Housekeeping
by Gaia Lao
Summary: Levi finally settles on a punishment for Mikasa's insubordination. Takes place and diverges after the Clash of the Titans arc in the manga so spoilers abound. Supposed to be LeviMika but more like EreMikaLevi love triangle.
1. Chapter 1

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

Author's (long introductory) Note: Feel free to skip past this and jump right into the story. For those of you still reading, hi, I'm Gaia and I'm a fanfiction-a-holic. Actually, not really but that sounded fitting right there. This is my first time venturing outside my primary fandom, so needless to say this is my first Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan fanfic. For those of you that have me on author alerts expecting another Digimon fic, my apologies in advance, but this story idea got stuck in my head and I figured maybe once I got writer's block on this, I might be more motivated to go back to my other incomplete story. For those that are here from the SnK fandom, also my apologies in advance on not being a complete expert in the series, so I may remember some places/names/events/personalities incorrectly from how they're portrayed in cannon. I've literally only had 1 run-through on the subbed anime from Crunchyroll, and my knowledge on the manga storyline comes from reading SnK wiki articles (and reading fanfics, woohoo!) And for those very few that know how I work, I'm trying a little experiment here in that I'm not going to write a few chapters ahead before publishing on FFN. I have a general idea on where I'm going with this, yes, but I haven't decided on how I'm going to end it yet. In short, let's see if I can get myself out of any corners I write myself into! Last few snippets you may want to know before I get started: I update very, very, very slowly since real life dictates my free time. You have been warned. Also, for the first time ever, I'm using cuss words in a story of mine, since I wouldn't be able to do Levi's (or anyone else's) character justice without them. Because of that, my grammar/censor muse isn't too happy about this and is on strike for this project. On that positive note, let's get started!

Chapter 1

_Shrieks of terror and pain resounded across the field. The desperate shouts of her still living comrades were nothing but background noise compared to them. They were soon replaced by the sounds of crunched bones and gushes of blood. _

_Hulking figures of numerous titans with their demented faces closed in on them. One in particular, the one with the ghastly grin—her nightmare for the last five years—loomed over her, ready to strike. But she was helpless to stop it. The only thing she could do in what surely was their final moments was express her feelings to the boy beside her, the one she promised to protect with her life. _

_Emotions overwhelming her, she brought her face near his as she confessed her gratitude. Those emerald eyes were wide and mirrored her own tear-streaked face. Closer and closer she inched, her chin tilting upwards…_

"CLANG!" went the first bell of the morning. Mikasa Ackerman sat up in her bed with a start. As the other four bells tolled the arrival of a new day, the raven-haired girl raised a hand to her forehead, immediately plopping back down on her bed.

She had almost recovered from the injuries she'd sustained that fateful day a week ago, but the memory still haunted her in her dreams.

_He'd turned away from her, his hand having just regenerated. A fierce determination had replaced that fragile-looking face. _

What had she been thinking? Eren was like a brother to her. She couldn't have possibly wanted to…?

Mikasa felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. So why had she felt a pang of disappointment just then?

No, he was her brother, the one she swore to protect, nothing more—even though it wasn't her that ended up saving them. She frowned at that last thought. Some woman worth a hundred soldiers she had been.

She groaned as she dragged herself out of bed. A warm shower was just what she needed to alleviate the soreness that'd lingered ever since that day. Of course, it didn't help she'd gone right back to training as soon as she was capable of walking without collapsing in pain.

As she made her way to the communal bathroom, she couldn't help but stare out her window.

'Eren, good morning.'

* * *

Eren Jaeger's eyes fluttered open. His cell was a little brighter than usual so he could only assume it was daytime. How late in the day it was was another question. He could barely hear the sounds of the bells from down here.

It didn't take long for the guard at his door to notice him stirring. The clean-shaven man walked stiffly up to the entrance to his cell and opened his mouth, ready to ask his daily questions.

Before he could say a word, however, the fifteen-year-old boy stated in a dull voice, "No, I'm not going to turn into a titan, so you can go ahead and let me out." Eren knew the routine by now. He stood up and stretched himself out a bit as the guard fumbled around with his keys and opened the door. It was a protocol designed by Hanji to make sure he was in the right state of mind before being let out each morning. He guessed that she was afraid his titan mind might take over while he slept or something.

Other than having to sleep in the dungeon for the next month, he was treated like any other soldier in the Survey Corps. As he made his way over to the barracks to get himself cleaned up before morning training, his mind wandered to last week's events, still fresh in his mind.

If anyone had asked him if he'd successfully avenged his mother, technically he could say "yes." The Colossal and Armored titans were gone, and that creepy smiling titan had been decimated before his eyes. Yet, he did not feel that he was done. Not until every last one of them was exterminated, not until they were free to roam outside the walls and see the wonders in Armin's book.

As he neared the familiar stone building, he couldn't help but look up. Second floor, fifth window from the right was his adopted sister's.

'Morning, Mikasa.'

That moment with her, when it felt like the end for them, still seemed so surreal. He'd been on the brink of despair then, but it was her words that had saved him. Sure she'd been emotional with him before with her overprotective mindset, but to see such a heartfelt outburst from his rock of a sister… He could still feel the flutter in his chest as she drew close, that burning desire to protect her welling up inside of him…

"Good morning, Eren!" The greeting from the blond boy before him snapped him out of his reverie.

"Ah, hi, Armin!" He noticed that his childhood friend was fully dressed and ready to go for morning exercises. "Guess I slept in again, huh?"

Armin Arlert simply smiled. "Can't be helped. They don't want to risk waking you suddenly in case it triggers you to become a titan." Hanji's protocol at work again.

"I'll be out as soon as I can," Eren hurriedly assured. "Every minute I'm away from training is a minute longer before I'm as good as the Captain." With one last wave, he ran to the showers to get cleaned up.

* * *

Captain Levi sighed as he set another stack of documents in a neat pile to the side of his desk. It was rather pathetic that paperwork was the best thing he could do while he was injured. He involuntarily rubbed at his left leg. Sure he did a full workout every morning and afternoon that didn't involve putting a strain on his ankle, but he still wasn't 100%.

A sudden tickle in his nose made him sneeze. He shot a hand out to weigh down the paper in front of him that was threatening to fly away with that act.

Worst of all must have been the fact that he wasn't capable of cleaning as much as he wanted too. He had to cut his daily filth-purging regimen in half since it involved his legs way too much.

As he resumed scribbling on the parchment before him, a light knocking came from his office door. He briefly looked at his clock. 3 PM. He wasn't expecting visitors at this time.

"Beat it!" he shouted and turned back to his work.

The knocking repeated, more insistently this time.

"Captain," came a female voice muffled by the closed door. "Squad Leader Hanji sent me."

"Then you can take your scrawny butt back over to her, Ackerman, I'm busy," barked Levi.

Instead, the door swung open and in stepped the dark-haired soldier. Seemingly ignoring his last order, she saluted and stated, "She asked me to retrieve the report on the last titan battle to prepare for her experiment tomorrow."

Levi brought a hand up to his forehead and rubbed it in irritation. His face somehow still remained stoic. "That crackpot told me she didn't need it _until_ tomorrow. Can't you just tell her everything she needs to know? I wasn't even there for God's sake!" Not he didn't want to be there, but it had been impossible for him to go with his injury, and the mere thought of it ticked him off even more. Maybe if he had been, Erwin wouldn't be in his current shape…

"She said she needs official documentation to base her protocol on. It's to ensure Eren's safety during the experiment."

So _that's_ what she got her on, that little prick. Hanji must have miscalculated how long it would take to get all the paperwork together in time for Erwin to approve running it. Her piss-poor planning did not constitute an emergency on his part, but she could sure trick Ackerman into thinking it was. Levi couldn't believe how easily manipulated his top new recruit was when it came to "Eren's safety."

"Bugger off, Ackerman. Don't tell me that you're too stupid to see Shitty Glasses is just using you."

"_Sir,_" she spat, a hint of venom her tone, "I am not leaving this office until I get that report. Eren's life may depend on it."

Levi had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at her naivety. "Whatever. Come back in an hour; this could take awhile," he grumbled as he reached for a blank sheet of paper. He didn't know what compelled him to acquiesce, but maybe it was just to get her out of his damn office and leave him alone.

"I _said_ I'm not leaving until I get it." With that, Mikasa sat down at a chair across from Levi's desk.

He had half a mind to beat her ass right then and there for her insubordination, but a sharp pang from his ankle as he attempted to stand up reminded him of why that would be a bad idea. Instead, he reached over and yanked open an adjacent drawer, from which he pulled a bundle of papers.

He slapped the bound pile onto his desk and began rummaging through the sheets. They were individual accounts on the incident, but he was required to summarize them into a tidy little report before they could officially act on any of the information. In all honesty, he already knew the contents of these papers so well, he would be able to draft a sufficient report without them, but it wasn't in his nature to half-ass a job like that. He pulled out a few papers in particular from the stack that he wanted to reference for accuracy.

Taking up his pen once again, he noticed the girl across from him was no longer boring into the top of his head with her fierce gaze. Instead, she was looking intently at his windowsill.

"Something wrong, Ackerman?" he asked gruffly.

"It's filthy," she stated plainly.

"What?" It was more of an expression of surprise than an actual question, although his bored-looking visage belied that.

"It wouldn't be to anyone else, but by your standards, the window is filthy. In fact," she said, looking around at her surroundings, "this whole room would not pass your normal clean-freak test."

Levi tried not to twitch. "I'm keenly aware of that, Ackerman, thank you very much." He actually let sarcasm drip into his voice at that last part. "But things would be different had a certain _someone_ not defied my orders and got me injured. So I suggest you either shut it or make yourself useful for once."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her flinch at his words. She then looked down at her hands guiltily before getting up and walking over to a narrow door across his office.

"I assume you keep your cleaning supplies here," she mumbled.

This made his head perk up. He hadn't expected her to take him seriously at the off-handed suggestion. Levi knew she still bore a grudge against him for his treatment of Eren, so anything that wasn't utter defiance toward him came as a bit of a shock.

Turning back to his work, he simply replied in his monotone voice, "Yeah, knock yourself out. But I expect everything to be put back right where you found it, you hear?" The Captain sensed rather than saw her nod.

They both worked at their own jobs in silence for the next hour. Levi scribbled up his report, occasionally looking over his select papers for specifics, while Mikasa not only cleaned the window and sill, but also dusted his shelves and scrubbed the floor.

By the time Levi was finished, the rays of the afternoon sun had made their presence known through his window. He couldn't tell whether it was because of them or because of his recruit's handiwork that his room sparkled when he looked up from the completed manuscript.

It took all his willpower not to gasp at the results. 'So…clean…' He stood up slowly and inspected the room for himself. Not even his most senior soldiers had this level of cleanliness on their first go around. But he was determined not to give her the satisfaction of a good report. Instead he looked for something, _anything,_ to criticize her for.

He finally found what he was searching for as he scrutinized the bookshelf. "Who taught you how to clean, Ackerman? Pigs?" He brushed a finger around the edge of one his encyclopedias. "But I guess that's all those filthy backwater towns are good for."

She clenched a fist at her side.

However, he continued, "You're supposed to take the books off first, and then dust, not try to dust around them, brat." Thinking of something else, he looked up at the ceiling. "And you didn't even attempt to clean the chandelier before the floor? Such a stupid waste."

Mikasa took a deep breath to try to calm herself. "I can come back and redo those after I relay your report, _Sir_."

Levi turned away to hide his amusement at her barely contained anger. He then limped over to his desk to place the report in an envelope with his seal. "See that you do."

His face remained emotionless as he held out the completed packet to the raven-haired girl. She snatched it from him without another word and made haste for the exit.

"Oh, and Ackerman."

Mikasa paused halfway out the door.

"It just dawned on me that you were never disciplined for your insubordination during the battle with the Female Titan."

The girl in question shifted uncomfortably, not daring to look back at him.

He walked up slowly behind her, his voice low. "For your punishment, you will come clean my office and my quarters every single day until I'm fully recovered."

Mikasa's onyx eyes widened. She whirled about on her heel and found herself face-to-face with her commanding officer. "But, Sir, my other duties…"

Levi simply gave an uncaring wave of his hand. "I'm sure you can make time for this. After all, my entire schedule had to change around the resultant injury."

Mikasa couldn't help a scowl from forming on her face.

"Or I could have you clean out all the stables and bathrooms by yourself for the next year. Your choice. That would mean less time you could spend with your bratty friends, wouldn't it?" With that, he hobbled back over to his desk and took a seat.

All the girl could do was clench and unclench the hand not holding her valuable report. After a minute of standing there, she finally conceded, "Fine, have it your way." Turning back toward the doorway, she couldn't help muttering loud enough for him to hear, "Midget bastard." She didn't give Levi enough time to retort before slamming the door behind her.

The Captain allowed himself the pleasure of smirking at where she had stood. This was going to be interesting indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: Forgive me if I keep copy/pasting the disclaimer from the first chapter for awhile. SnK and its characters are not mine.

Chapter 2

Mikasa woke an hour earlier to get a head start on her day. It seemed like the best way to squeeze her new job into her schedule would be to clean his room first thing after she got dressed. She could then make it to morning exercises and breakfast with the other troops. Normally her day was followed by chores, tactical classes, lunch, combat training, and 3D Maneuver Gear practice. After that was free time until dinner, during which she could finish up with his office, in lieu of the extra training she usually put herself through. It seemed like a solid plan for her, but she was well-aware of the possibility the Captain would throw in something extra to get on her nerves.

Tugging at the maroon scarf around her neck, she took a deep breath and exited her room. Up and down stairs she went, winding her way through corridors in the labyrinth of a castle, until she reached her target room on the commanders' level. She quietly knocked three times, wondering if Captain Levi was even awake by now.

"You're late, Ackerman," was his muffled reply. "Get in here!"

She tried the doorknob and surprisingly found it unlocked already. Taking one last gulp, she pushed forward and into her superior's room. It was much more spacious than hers and included an attached private bathroom off to the side. The decor, however, was just as plain as the Captain's office downstairs.

To her left, she spied the man in question adjusting his cravat in front of a full-length mirror. "I had hoped you'd take this job seriously enough to show up at a decent time. I've had that door unlocked for you for the last half hour."

He turned and walked slowly toward her, still with that slight limp. Mikasa moved aside to let him out. She couldn't help but glare at him coldly the moment he walked past her such that all she could see was his back.

"Cleaning supplies are in the closet as usual. Lock up before you leave by twisting the button on the doorknob before you go." He took this opportunity to check his right pants pocket to make sure he remembered his key. "By the time I get back, I expect this room and the bathroom to be so spotless I could host a dinner for the King on the floor, Ackerman."

"Yes, Sir," she saluted out of habit.

Just as he stepped forward and was about to close the door behind him, he suddenly turned back to look at her. Luckily, Mikasa had already wiped all traces of anything derogatory off her face. "Oh, and one more thing. I have some laundry for you to do in addition to cleaning the room. You might as well take the sheets and wash them too while you're at it. I'm sure you can fit that in today despite your late start."

"Sir, if I may," Mikasa started curtly, attempting to reign in the anger building up inside of her. "I was under the impression I was just serving a pre-set punishment, not becoming a maid service."

"Tch, your punishment is whatever I dictate it to be, Ackerman. Consider this an order…from your commanding 'midget bastard.'" With that, he closed the door in her face.

It took every ounce of willpower for Mikasa not to smash something in his room. That vindictive little…he was so infuriating! She had expected a hitch, but that didn't mean she couldn't be upset about it.

Pulling up the scarf over her nose, she set off to work, if only to keep her thoughts off that incorrigible excuse for a man.

* * *

The bustling mess hall was already dying down as soldiers trickled out to continue on their morning duties after breakfast. In fact, a certain blond teenager was polishing off the last of his oatmeal when his childhood friend sat down at their table with her tray of food.

"Something happen, Mikasa?" Armin Arlert asked the dark-haired girl. "I've never seen you so late to morning exercises."

Her hardened face never wavered as she tore a piece of her burnt toast off. "I started new chores today," she answered flatly. New chores indeed, ones that ran her late to practice and as such forced her to cut into breakfast time to make up for it.

"Eh? Is that why you were doing laundry at this time of day?" Sasha gasped, her gaze constantly flickering to the other untouched slice of toast on Mikasa's plate.

A pair of turquoise eyes peered up at her. "If you need any help with them," Krista offered, "you can always ask us. We'll be glad to give you a hand." A gentle smile appeared on the fair-haired girl's face.

"Especially if food is involved…" Despite having already eaten all her breakfast and some of her friends', Sasha still had a hungry gleam in her eye.

Finishing up her toast and grabbing a piece of fruit, Mikasa shoved the rest of her plate toward her comrade, who proceeded to devour the remaining food immediately. "Thank you for your concern, but that won't be necessary. It's my responsibility, and I'll take care of it myself." She then turned to the boy on her right. "Where's Eren?"

"Ah, he already finished here and went to see Hanji in preparation for the experiments later this morning," Armin replied.

"I see." He could hear a touch of disappointment in her voice. It was no surprise considering she tried to spend every bit of her free time with him.

Armin took a moment to scrutinize her visage before carefully asking, "So what are these new chores?"

She blinked before giving a light shrug and sighing, as if to say there was no point hiding it. "The Captain's given me extra duties as punishment for the incident with Annie."

"Wait, seriously?" came a disbelieving voice from behind. "That was ages ago." All eyes turned to a tall young man with brown hair.

"Jean, what are you doing back here? I thought you and Connie had already gone to work on the stables." Armin raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can't seem to find where I left my book. I wanted to make sure Potato Girl here hadn't mistook it for a sandwich and ate it." He shoved a thumb in Sasha's direction. The girl in question immediately stuck her food-filled tongue out at him.

"He really just wanted to see Mikasa!" a voice called from across the hall. Grinning, a short-haired boy ducked his head back out of the doorway of the mess hall.

"Shut it, Springer!" Jean yelled, a faint blush creeping up on his face.

This earned him a laugh from everyone present. Well, everyone but Mikasa who at least gave a small, amused smile.

"Er, well, I don't see my book, so I'd better get going," the young man said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Then, fixing a serious gaze on the dark-haired girl, he added, "If he mistreats you in the slightest, let me know right away."

Mikasa nodded and was about to thank him for his concern when she was interrupted by a now satiated Sasha, "Why? So you can piss in your pants the moment you try to stand up to the Captain?"

Jean's face turned bright scarlet. "Oy! I'm just trying to look out for her!"

"Because he has a crush on her~!" Connie's head popped back out as quickly as it had appeared.

Without another word, Jean dashed out of the room to beat the snot out of his comrade.

Armin couldn't help but grin at the quickly retreating figure. After a minute, he stood up and grabbed his empty tray. "I should get going too." With one last look at Mikasa, he said, "I think the rest of us feel the same. If the Captain pushes you too far—"

"I know, thank you, Armin," she replied rather abruptly. He knew his childhood friend would rather tough it out than call on them for help. He also knew the Captain wouldn't let her hear the end of it if she allowed anyone to assist her. Keeping that in mind, he made a mental note to sit down with her in a few days to make sure she was really okay.

* * *

The Captain's quarters were still locked by the time his laundry had finished drying, but Mikasa knew where to find him later that afternoon.

The large wicker basket of clothes and sheets under one arm, she rapped quietly on the wooden door of his office with the other.

"You'd better not have ruined any of my cravats," was her signal to enter. She'd always wondered why he never locked the door to his office, which contained important military documents, but was so paranoid about keeping his bedroom secure.

At least his office wouldn't need as much work since she'd come back yesterday afternoon and finished up like she'd promised. Luckily for her, he hadn't been in by the time she returned, or he may have exacted his revenge for her insult sooner.

She set aside the basket for who knows when he'd go back to his room, and started cleaning. Things were just as quiet between them as they had been the other day, only interspersed with the occasional snide complaint about her work from the Captain.

Mikasa had to bite her tongue a few times, but resolved not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction from her.

With a rustle of papers, Captain Levi stood up at his desk. "I suppose I should let you into my room to put those away."

Not even looking at her, he headed for the exit to his office. Catching his drift, Mikasa gently dropped what she was doing and grabbed the basket.

For someone whose ankle was injured, he was going at a pretty decent pace through the castle. Not long into their dull trek, he asked nonchalantly, "How did Shitty Glasses' experiments go?"

Mikasa blinked for a second. It wasn't like the Captain to make idle chatter, especially when he had plenty of opportunity back in his office. She took a moment to think back to what happened in the Squad Leader's office shortly after she had finished kitchen duty. "Eren was fine, although I don't think Hanji got the results she wanted."

"Oh?" It was more an invitation to elaborate rather than an expression of interest.

"For her first experiment, she made a cut on each of Eren's arms, to see if he was able to regenerate one faster than the other."

"And?" He slowed down a bit to tackle a particularly long set of stairs.

"They healed at the same time. Eren couldn't focus that kind of power."

The Captain merely shrugged. "Anything else?"

"She asked Eren to mentally command Connie to do a set action. She thinks he has some sort of telepathic ability since he was able to make the titans attack a single target during the last battle."

By now they had arrived at his room. As he reached for his key, he commented, "I suppose that ended in failure too."

Mikasa merely nodded. "And then Hanji—"

"I think I've heard enough of her harebrained experiments." He raised a hand as he opened the door. "I was just bored as hell, not wanting a full report. There's no paperwork to distract me on a walk." With that, he stepped aside to let her in.

Mikasa tried to keep as straight a face as she could, even with the aggravating prospect of putting everything away for him as if he were a child.

"Lock up once you've put those up then finish with my office. I need to go see Commander Erwin."

"Yes, Sir," she muttered under her breath, not even looking at him. She set the basket down on a chest and pulled out a jacket she had neatly folded earlier. The raven-haired girl could hear the sounds of his boots walking toward the doorway. 'Three… two… one…' she mentally counted down.

"Oh and Ackerman," he began. Here it comes, right on cue. She gave a quick roll of her eyes with her face turned away before giving him her attention. "What time are your tactical classes tomorrow?"

Mikasa blinked. That wasn't quite what she had expected him to say. She still braced herself for him to give her yet another assignment. "Eleven in the morning like every other day."

Levi raised a hand up to his chin as if mulling over something. "Right, it's been awhile…" Finally making his way out the door, he called back over his shoulder, "Carry on, Ackerman. I don't want to see a single wrinkle in those sheets, got it?"

A simple salute was all Mikasa could muster, still wondering what the Captain could possibly be up to now.


	3. Chapter 3

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

Chapter 3

Not only did Mikasa wake up earlier, while it was still pitch black outside, but she also got herself dressed at record speeds. She wasn't about to give the Captain another excuse to chastise her for tardiness.

The faint light of the moon was her only guide as she slipped down corridors, past rows of rooms whose occupants were still in deep slumber. In order to make sure she wasn't sleep-deprived, she'd forced herself to go to bed shortly after supper, even if that meant cutting into her already scant time with Eren from yesterday.

She soon found the door of the room she was looking for. Trying the knob, she found it surprisingly still locked. Could he possibly still be asleep at this time? Mikasa rapped gently on the door to find out.

"Who's there?" barked the clearly awake man. Not even a trace of grogginess could be heard in his voice.

"_Housekeeping,_" Mikasa spat sardonically.

There was a click of the lock, and the door presently opened before her. "Cute, Ackerman, very cute."

The raven-haired girl was about to step through when she noticed his appearance. Still moist hair indicated he'd finished a shower not too long ago. Since then, he'd managed to change into his trousers, but his white shirt still hung unbuttoned over his torso. She could see his rock solid chest and perfectly sculpted abs, only marred by a few battle scars, from within the opening of the garment.

Without thinking, Mikasa inhaled sharply at the sight. She had to admit he looked quite attractive like that. Sure she had seen him and other men shirtless before during training, but the way his clothing was loosely draped over him in the gentle moonlight…

"Something wrong, Ackerman?" He had half-turned back into his room when he must have noticed her staring at him.

Reflexively, Mikasa shook her head, but she could feel a blush starting to creep up on her face. "N-No, Sir!" She did her best to keep the waver out of her voice as she thought of a cover. "I just remembered I need to do someone—I mean, _something_—later today, that's all." She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks while she mentally cursed herself. "Now if you'll excuse me." Fixing her onyx eyes on the wooden flooring, she made to push past him and get to work.

The Captain merely raised an eyebrow at her but stepped aside and let her through.

Mikasa went to work immediately, opening his windows to clean them and then wiping down the tables. She didn't dare look at him during this or when she moved onto dusting the shelves before scrubbing the floor. The nervous girl would have attempted cleaning the bathroom first so that she could hide in there, but the shorter man had kept going in and out of it to finish getting dressed.

At least when she was working on the floor, she didn't have to look up at him. That is, until a pair of black boots planted themselves firmly in front of her.

"Ackerman, you're acting awfully strange this morning," commented the man hovering above her. "Are you feeling ill?"

Keeping her head low, she shook it and simply moved onto another spot on the floor. His feet followed her.

"Spit it out, Ackerman, I can tell something's wrong."

Mikasa chose not to even respond this time, and she could feel a glare boring into the top of her head. Without warning, he reached down to grab her by the wrist and hauled her up to her feet. With the other hand, he yanked her chin toward him so that he could examine her face. She couldn't bring her eyes to meet his grey ones.

He removed his hand from her chin to run the back of it gently across her forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever, but your pulse is racing," he remarked diagnostically. "Your eyes don't show a lack of sleep either." The Captain finally released her wrist and let her stand on her own. "So something must be going on in there." With that, he flicked a finger at her brow, which made her flinch. "Now are you going to tell me what it is, or am I going to have to wait for an accident report from your training because your head's not on straight?"

Mikasa let out a soft sigh. "It's nothing, really."

"Like hell it is!" he snapped.

This made the girl give a start, but she kept her voice steady. "No, really. My mind's just not as focused as it normally is, that's all. I don't think it's used to being up at this hour. I'll be fine by morning exercises."

Captain Levi studied her face throughout all this, but she'd gotten as good as him at keeping it stoic. "Very well then," he conceded. The dark-haired man then turned to make his way out the door for the morning. "Don't forget to lock up again before you leave."

Mikasa nodded and released a deep breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"And Ackerman," he added halfway out.

'There he goes again,' she groaned internally.

"Come by ten minutes later tomorrow," he ordered gruffly. "But no longer than that, got it?"

Mikasa's eyes widened in shock. Was he actually…being nice? "Yes, Sir," she said as she saluted. With that, he disappeared behind a shut door.

* * *

That picture-perfect image of him was all that she could see in her mind's eye. How the waning moonlight made his body glow like a celestial being. The way his wet ebony hair had been matted above his handsome face—why had she never noticed before how handsome it was? And that built torso of his…she had the sudden urge to run a finger over it, to trace over his scars, to dig in and feel how solid his muscles really were.

"Hey, Mikasa, anyone home?" An open hand waved in front of her face. She blinked once before turning her head toward the source of the distraction. Her onyx eyes fell on a pair of emerald orbs. "You awake in there? You haven't said a word all morning."

Doing her best to restrain a blush, she took a new interest in stirring the untouched soup in front of her. "I'm fine, Eren."

She quickly noticed other pairs of eyes being fixed on her.

"Does it have anything to do with the new chores for Captain Levi?" asked a voice on the other side of her. The blond teenager had probably been staring at her the longest.

"Something like that, Armin." It was harder for her to hide the truth under his scrutiny. She bit into her roll and passed the rest of her tray down to Sasha's eagerly waiting hands. "I think I'm not used to waking up this early," she finished with the same lame excuse she'd given the Captain.

"Chores?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, don't you remember from yesterday?" Armin shifted his focus to her brother. For once, she was grateful for his memory lapses.

A light seemed to go off in his head. "Oh, right, that's why you had to go to bed right after dinner."

"I still think the whole thing is a crock of shit," Jean added, finishing off his mug of coffee.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Mikasa assured. Her roll now completely gone, she stood up from the table. "I think I need a walk to clear my head."

Before anyone could say anything else, she had already made her way out of the mess hall.

Connie gave a low whistle. "Leaving before Eren does, that's something that never happens with her."

"Should one of us go after her?" Krista chimed.

Armin knit his brow in concern. "I really want to, but at the same time, I think she needs some space right now."

In the meantime, Eren's gaze never left the doorway she'd left through. Something was seriously wrong with his sister, he could feel it. But maybe Armin was right for now. She had always opened up to him before. Maybe he just needed to give her some time to come around. That didn't mean he couldn't be concerned about her until then, though.

* * *

Mikasa sighed for what had to be the tenth time on her walk along the edge of the forest. What the hell was wrong with her?

She kicked a stone that lay in her path. The dark-haired girl watched as it skipped a few times along the ground before stopping against a tree.

Ever since earlier that morning, she couldn't get Captain Levi out of her head. Every time that memory of him came up, she could feel a warmth start to spread in her cheeks along with a racing in her chest. Just what was this feeling inside her? Could it possibly be…?

She shook her head furiously. That miserable excuse for a man was a sneaky, vindictive little asshole. How could she possibly want someone like that? She should be going after someone more like…like…

_He'd turned away from her, his hand having just regenerated. A fierce determination had replaced that fragile-looking face._

She had to lean against a tree for support, her legs suddenly feeling weak.

But Eren evoked a completely different feeling from her. She could never picture herself desiring him physically. Loving him, yes, like a brother. Wanting him like that, not a chance.

_Closer and closer she inched, her chin tilting upwards…_

She clenched her eyes shut. Okay, maybe during the heat of battle like that, but any other time she couldn't picture herself getting the nerve to do it.

Captain Levi on the other hand…

Again with the angry shake of the head. Regardless, she couldn't let herself feel such things, not when there were titans to kill and a war to be fought.

She turned on her heel to stomp back toward the castle. Maybe it was all what people called "hormones." She was almost through her fifteenth year; it wasn't uncommon in her age range. Yeah, that must be it, just a little fancy, something fickle and fleeting.

Mikasa had been an expert in setting aside her emotions and maintaining full control of her body since she was nine. Surely, she could do the same here.

Couldn't she?

* * *

Much to Eren's relief, his sister seemed to be in much better spirits. Not that she was very expressive in the first place, but she didn't seem as preoccupied as she was earlier that day, and she talked to him as if nothing had happened.

She had even cracked a smile when Sasha got caught stealing a roll for her when they were on kitchen duty together. At least Sasha had claimed it was to cheer Mikasa up.

Now he was staring at the back of her head in this cramped place they called a classroom. For their first year in the Survey Corps, they were required to go to daily classes on the squads' tactics and maneuvers. There were about twenty other people in attendance. The ones that hadn't been in his same graduating class were soldiers that had either failed the class previously or were retaking the class as punishment for incompetence on the battlefield.

The chatter of the room slowly died down as the brown-haired Corporal in charge of the class cleared his throat and walked over to the blackboard.

"Today we are going to review riding formations optimized to avoid titan encounters. As you know, the pattern used during the 57th expedition was quite complex…"

He had barely touched his chalk to the board when the door slammed open and in limped Captain Levi.

Still lazily resting his gaze on the girl in front of him, Eren was surprised not only by their commanding officer's appearance, but how Mikasa clearly tensed up at the sight of him and attempted to bury her face in her scarf. The young titan-shifter might not have been as smart as Armin, but he could put two and two together enough to see that the Captain's presence upset her.

Speaking of his genius friend, he turned to look at the blond two seats to Mikasa's left. It was obvious by his grim expression that he had noticed the same thing.

"Ca-Captain Levi," the flustered Corporal stammered, giving an awkward salute. "What brings you here on this fine day?"

Levi merely gave him a nod to relax while his grey eyes perused the room of students. "I will be using this room to discuss tactics with my special ops squad for the next week. The rest of your class is dismissed," he stated nonchalantly.

"What?!" The taller man at the front of the room gawked at him. "But-But, Sir, the tactics course is an essential requirement in the Survey Corps. They are not to be disrupted without orders from the Commander himself."

The Captain withdrew a sealed envelope from within his jacket and slapped it against the Corporal's chest. "Erwin said you might need this."

His face flushed red with indignation, the other man tore through the seal and darted his eyes over the paper in his hands. The once scarlet visage then turned pale.

"As I was saying," Levi continued calmly, "Commander Erwin has stepped up the timetable for the next expedition. Therefore, I require this classroom to teach my squad some maneuvers vital to the mission. Have I made myself clear, Corporal?"

The man in question merely nodded and sulked out of the room.

Turning to the rest of the class, the Captain barked, "If your name isn't Jaeger, Ackerman, Arlert, Kirstein, Springer, Braus, or Lenz, get out of my sight!"

There was a veritable stampede of students scrambling to make it out the door before they faced Levi's infamous wrath. Soon silence fell over the room in sharp contrast to the rustle of papers and screeching of chairs just moments prior.

Their commanding officer wasted no time drawing the outline of a giant humanoid on the chalkboard. Even though he faced away from them, his voice still boomed off the walls.

"For the next week, we will be learning a task that is key for the next mission. Namely, the extraction of Eren Jaeger from his titan form."

While everyone around him let out exclamations of surprise, Eren cringed. The Captain drew four straight lines through the arms and legs of the diagram that was meant to represent him.

"At the end of the seven days, I will take you all out to the training grounds to test what you've learned. Are there any questions so far?" Their new teacher turned to face them, both hands behind his back.

Eren gulped and meekly raised his hand. "S-Sir, do I have to be present for this? Since you'll be cutting _me_ up."

A pair of smoky eyes glared at him. "This information will be valuable for you to learn as well, in case we run into another titan-shifter that needs to be extracted. That is, if you are unable for any reason to change into your titan form and subdue it yourself."

"Ah…yes, Sir…" Eren said, deflated, and shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know if he liked this idea so much.

"Besides, perhaps you'll be so scared hearing how we're going to carve you like a turkey, you'll find a way to come out on command." Levi allowed a small, sadistic smirk to show on his face.

Eren noticed how the Captain's eyes flickered to Mikasa briefly and seemed just as surprised as he was to see she was just sitting there—no evil eye, no scowl, not even a barely contained objection to the prospect of hurting him. Something was definitely wrong again with his overprotective sister.

However, Levi continued with the lesson. "Everyone will have a primary job, as well as secondary and tertiary positions to fill in case another team member is otherwise preoccupied. Kirstein!"

"Sir!" The young man involuntarily saluted at the sound of his name being called.

"At ease. This is a class, not a drill." Pointing to a spot on the diagram, he explained, "Your primary task will be to disable the right arm. _His _right, not yours. Don't screw that up. You'll be focusing your cuts here and here…"

The Captain took up the full hour and then some making sure everyone knew their roles clearly. Most notable to Eren would be that Mikasa's primary position was making the two crucial slices to get him out of his titan body, with Jean and Armin being back ups.

"Until he's capacitated enough to be safely extracted, Ackerman, you have the option of gouging his eyes out if he goes berserk."

Eren immediately placed both his hands up to cover his eyes at the thought.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Captain," Mikasa muttered, staring at the desk in front of her.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So you've finally decided to join the conversation, Ackerman? And here I thought your disrupted circadian rhythm had rendered you mute for the rest of the day."

She didn't move an inch, which left Eren to wonder if that fiery gleam had appeared in her eyes or not.

Unfortunately for her, the Captain wouldn't leave things well enough alone at her lack of response. "Would you care to explain why it would not be necessary to take out Eren's sight on the off chance he goes on a rampage and attacks his friends? If I recall correctly, he once even turned on you, and left you a nice parting gift for it."

That seemed to finally snap her out of it, since her head whipped up in his direction to fix him a fierce glare. "If he's that far gone, it would be a waste of time and a hindrance. With his sight intact, his movements would be predictable because he'd be targeting us. Take out that out and he'll thrash around erratically, making it harder on me to cut him cleanly."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Everyone held their breaths, watching the intense staring contest between humanity's strongest and the top student of their graduating class.

Eren opened his mouth a few times to try to break the ice, but one look at the two made him cower back at the prospect of facing retribution from either of them.

"A good point, Ackerman," the Captain finally hissed. He didn't let up on staring her down, however. "But there will be plenty of other scenarios in which you'll have to take out his eyes or doom the mission. So I suggest you get over this reluctance to 'hurt' your brother sooner rather than later."

"Duly noted, _Sir_," she reluctantly conceded, tearing her gaze away first so that he could finish the lesson.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"And last but not least, Jaeger!" Captain Levi called after regaining his composure.

This made Eren jump into a very straight sitting position in his chair. "Yes, Sir!"

"If we come across a titan-shifter, your focus, as with Lenz, will be to fill in any gaps left by your comrades. If none exist, you are back-up on the legs, in the event someone fails in their task. Tertiary will be the arms and neck."

Once Eren acknowledged his understanding, their temporary teacher concluded, "If there are no other questions, class is dismissed for today. You will be quizzed on your positions first thing tomorrow."

Even though they were eager to get out of there, no one dared move from their seats until the Captain had hobbled out of the room and slammed the door behind him. For a few seconds, everyone merely looked around and gave each other dazed blinks.

"And I thought classes couldn't get any worse," Connie was the first to groan.

Armin shrugged. "At least it's only for a week."

As the rest of his friends took turns voicing their opinions, Eren glanced over to his adoptive sister. She had already gathered her belongings and was making her way for the door. He gave a slight nod to Armin as a good-bye and quickly followed after her.

He caught up with her not too far down the hallway. "Hey, Mikasa, can I talk to you for a sec?" She instantly stiffened but slowed her pace to indicate he could walk with her. He fell into step easily as they both made their way toward the mess hall. "So…how are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you," she answered quietly, her mouth partially covered by the maroon scarf. "Are you all right after that class?"

He flashed her a reassuring grin. "I'm sure it'll be more painful actually doing it than it is talking about it."

Her lips curled into a slight smile in response.

"So uh…" Eren started to scratch the back of his head. "Is there something wrong…between you and the Captain?"

Mikasa stopped abruptly in the hallway. Eren had to backtrack a few steps and turn around to face her.

"You've just been…not yourself today," he clarified. "Well, you seemed better until he came to class."

Without a word, she pushed onward, avoiding eye contact with him. Something about the way she was acting irritated Eren. Normally they could talk about anything—their hopes, fears, doubts, pet peeves (even with each other.) But this she was being completely tight-lipped on, and he hadn't a clue why.

"Mikasa, what is it?" He ran to catch up with her. When they reached a quiet section of hallway, he grabbed her by the shoulders and lightly pushed her toward the wall. "Hey, after all we've been through, is it really that bad that you can't tell me?"

His sister remained looking downward as she responded quietly, "It's nothing you should be worried about, Eren. I need to deal with this on my own."

Eren couldn't pinpoint that expression on her face. It didn't help that she was good at hiding her emotions. But the way she acted and moved was something more than just nerves. It was more like…shame. A sudden thought came to Eren's mind which made him catch his breath. She and Captain Levi had, after all, been spending a lot of time together—alone—in his office and bedroom.

Squeezing her shoulders and keeping careful watch on her reaction, he cautiously asked, "Did the Captain…do something inappropriate? Like try to force himself on you?"

Mikasa's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no, no, nothing like that. You know he's not that kind of man."

"Thank God." Eren immediately relaxed his grip at her response. He then wrapped his arms around her in a relieved hug. "Yeah, I know, I just had to be sure. We swore we'd look out for each other, remember?"

Eren could feel her nodding into his shoulder. "I remember. But believe me when I tell you this is something you can't help me with."

He pulled away and bent down to make eye contact with her. "If not talking to me about this is that important to you, then I guess I can accept that. But please, if it's something you can speak to anyone else about, like Armin, or Krista, or even Hanji, please do. I'm worried about you; we all are."

Tears threatened to fall down her pale cheeks, so she rubbed a sleeve across her face. "Thank you, that means a lot to me. And…I'm sorry." She gave him a faint smile.

"Don't be. So long as I get my overprotective sister back at some point, I'll be happy with whatever it takes."

Mikasa couldn't help but softly giggle at the toothy grin he was giving her.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat. My stomach was already growling halfway through that class." He tugged at her jacket sleeve, and soon enough they were back to walking side by side down the castle's stone halls. Not much else was said between them, but whatever was made him feel like his sister was returning already.


	4. Chapter 4

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

A/N: Thanks everyone who's been following and reviewing this story so far! The positive response has definitely exceeded my expectations. On another note, I think this chapter requires stronger curse words, but I didn't want to force myself to bump the rating, especially since I don't intend on having any lemon content. I'm sure you can use your imaginations as to where I would have inserted some F-bombs.

Chapter 4

Eren stirred awake on the hard dungeon bed like any other morning. Only, unlike every other morning, it was very dark in his stone accommodations. "Oy, what time is it?" he called.

His bored guard seemed startled that his charge was awake already. "Uhm, er…please state your name."

"Cut the crap, I'm not going to turn into a titan. I just asked what the time was." Obviously it was early enough for him to feel a little crabby.

Muttering something under his breath, the guard took out a pocket watch. "Just a little past 3 AM," was his curt response.

What the hell was he doing awake at this hour? Eren took a moment to think back to the other day. He remembered Mikasa had left for bed shortly after dinner time. That's right, to make her feel better, he said he was going to turn in too instead of hanging out with everyone else like they usually would.

He gave a yawn and stretched out a bit. It didn't seem like his body really wanted to go back to sleep anyway, so might as well make the most of his day. "Hey, can you let me out? I think I'm up for good."

His guard seemed more than eager to fulfill the request. Since no other prisoners were in the dungeon, there would be no reason for the young man to stay. Eren assumed that meant he planned on going off-duty early to get some sleep or whatever.

It felt weird walking out of the cell when it was dark instead of walking in. Nevertheless, Eren headed back up to his room to get changed.

During the chilly trek back, he couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something. He sometimes had to wonder if that stuff his father had injected him with interfered with his normal memory too.

The dark-haired boy didn't figure it out until he walked into his room and found a strange sealed envelope on his desk. Turning it over in his hand, he recognized Hanji's handwriting and mark.

"…Shit." It was all flooding back to him now.

_Eren had just stepped out of his room on his way to dinner with Mikasa and the others. The first thing his emerald eyes rested on was a pair of glasses and a brown ponytail._

"_Gah!" He jumped back in surprise. "Oh, Hanji, it's just you. What's up?"_

"_Eren! I have an important mission for you!" Her creepy gaze seemed to bore into his very soul. _

"_Uh…sure, what is it?"_

_She immediately pressed an envelope into his hand. "I need you to take this to Captain Levi right away. Don't leave until he reads it and report back to me what he says."_

_He groaned audibly. "Can it wait until after dinner at least? I'm running late enough as is." Eren took the envelope and tossed it on his desk._

"_Sure, sure, but make sure he sees it tonight."_

_The young titan-shifter scratched his head. "If it's that important, why don't you take it to him yourself?" _

"_I would, but I'm in the middle of running an overnight experiment. I don't know if I can trust Moblit to be by himself for longer than the few minutes it took me to get here."_

_Eren sighed. "Okay, I'll take it to him later."_

"_Perfect!" Hanji gave him a broad grin. "Don't forget to make sure he reads it. I'll see you at dawn when my work is complete!" She flashed him a dramatic pose before rushing back to her office._

Eren slapped a hand over his forehead. He hadn't returned to his room afterward, but instead had headed straight for the dungeons to turn in. Looking at his clock, he wondered if the Captain would even be up at this time.

He pressed the envelope to his chest and decided it was at least worth a shot. Closing up his room, the anxious teenager quickly made his way toward the Captain's quarters.

* * *

Eren took a deep breath and paused before his commanding officer's door. He had heard the muffled sound of footsteps on his way here, but he couldn't tell if it was from this room or an adjacent one. With a shaky hand, he rapped quietly on the slab of wood in front of him.

"Ackerman, I thought I told you ten minutes later, not earlier."

Confused, Eren meekly called, "It-It's just me, Sir."

There was a click of a lock, and the door soon opened before him. "Jaeger, what the hell are you doing here?" The older man's hair was messy and he still wore his pajama pants. His dull expression belied the annoyance Eren imagined that he felt.

"I uh…just remembered…" He quickly held up the envelope. "This is from Hanji," he blurted.

Captain Levi snatched the document from him. "Send Shitty Glasses my regards and beat it."

He was about to close the door when Eren cried, "Wait, wait! She wanted me to make sure you read it." The teenage boy inadvertently stepped forward and planted his foot past the threshold such that the door wouldn't be able to close. "Um, and she wanted me to tell her what you thought about it."

Levi's eyes narrowed. "Do I look like I have the goddamn time to do this right now?"

Eren was too scared to even remove his foot from the entryway. "Please…Sir?" was all that he could squeak out.

With an exasperated sigh, the older man walked back into his room and motioned for the boy to follow. Once Eren had stepped in and closed the door behind him, Levi turned to the nearest lamp and asked in his usual monotone, "Are you sure you and Ackerman aren't related? Because both of you are sure as hell gullible and stubborn."

"Uh, yes, Sir?"

The ebony-haired man tore through the envelope and quickly skimmed over the pages. "I already heard about half this shit," he grumbled. Tossing the bundle of papers on his writing desk, he made his way over to the wardrobe. "Tell Shitty Glasses this was a waste of time, and if she wants to dump your ass down that well for more experiments, she's more than welcome, so long as you're back before class." Grabbing a stack of clothes, he made his way to the bathroom.

Eren still stood by the door, wondering what he should do.

"Now if that's all you needed, get the hell out of here! Make sure to turn that button on the knob on your way out to lock it. I'm running behind as is." With that, he made his way into the bathroom and slammed the door after him.

The teenage boy could hear the shower turning on and figured that was his cue to get out of there.

* * *

Mikasa's head was cloudier this morning that it was the previous day. She had a hard time sleeping last night, and when she did wake up, it was earlier than she had yesterday. There was no point waiting the extra ten minutes the Captain had allotted her. So, she tiredly dragged her feet down the corridors.

Memories from the other day swam in her head. She couldn't believe that sneaky son of a bitch hijacked their lessons. It was almost as if he anticipated that's what she needed the least that day. But she supposed he'd already planned on doing that long before their little encounter that morning, since he'd asked her about their classes.

Mikasa shook her head to clear it. No point in dwelling on those events, especially when they involved someone that had clearly been bent on pushing her buttons.

Once she reached her destination, she was so sure the Captain wasn't expecting her that she raised her hand to knock on the door. Just before she could make contact, the door swung open, much to her surprise, to reveal her adoptive brother.

"Eren?" she gasped, confused. "What are you doing here?"

The boy jumped back, clearly not expecting to see her there either. "Huh, Mikasa? Oh, right." He seemed to take a moment to gather his wits. "I was just delivering a message for Hanji. I sorta forgot to do it yesterday." He gave her a sheepish grin.

"But at this time of morning?" she pressed.

"Yeah, Hanji said she was going to see me at dawn to make sure I did it, and you know how scary she gets." He gave a short laugh. "I'd be afraid to participate in her next experiment."

The information slowly sank into her mind. That sounded like something the Squad Leader and her forgetful brother would do. "I'd better hurry and get started cleaning," she stated simply. "I'll see you after morning exercises."

Eren moved aside to let her in before exiting himself. "Yeah, I'll actually be on time to those for once," he joked. Her brother paused for a minute, as if thinking of something else he wanted to say.

She had a feeling she knew what it was. "I'll be fine, Eren, don't worry. I'm feeling better today." That was a complete lie, but she didn't want to waste anymore time on him worrying about her. She had only made it through her afternoon cleaning session the other day because the Captain had barely spent any time in the office. The quicker she could get his room done while it seemed like he was in the bathroom, the better off she would be.

Eren gave her a relieved smile. "All right, see you then!"

* * *

Mikasa cursed to herself. She had been so addle-brained that she had started dusting without opening and cleaning the window first. With a sigh, she unlocked the panes and pushed them outward, which produced a loud creak. It was then that she realized she hadn't seen anymore newspapers in his closet to scrub them with. She really didn't want to go out and find more. A clean-freak like the Captain had to have extra somewhere.

The half-Asian girl began rummaging though his drawers and chest, trying to find something that didn't look important to use as a substitute. Little did she realize that the shower had long stopped running and there was utter silence coming from the bathroom next door.

* * *

By the time Captain Levi had turned off the hot water to his shower, his annoyance had almost subsided. Almost. All he had been able to think about was how those damn brats could get so easily taken in by that crackpot of a scientist to do her dirty work.

He had just finished patting his hair dry and wrapping the towel around his waist when he heard his window creaking open. His breath caught in his throat, and he stood still to listen.

There was the sound of his desk drawers opening and closing, same with the chest by his bed. With Jaeger having locked his door, he could only assume there was an intruder in his room. He couldn't remember if Ackerman had secured his window the other day, so someone could very well have just entered through that.

He yanked the rod from his towel rack out and grasped it close to him. Silently he made his way to the door of his bathroom and waited for the footsteps to get closer. Ackerman was going to severely regret her carelessness when he next saw her.

* * *

Mikasa sighed in defeat. She'd have to use paper towels for now and get some more newspapers for tomorrow. Hopefully she could clean it such that the streaks wouldn't show as badly, but she was sure regardless of what she did, she'd never hear the end of it from the Captain.

She headed for the shelf she'd left the roll of paper towels on, which was on the other side of the bathroom door. Just as she was about to grab them, however, she heard the door she'd just passed being flung open and felt someone rushing at her from behind with a weapon poised.

Even though she was still groggy, her instincts kicked in immediately. Mikasa whirled around, grabbed the attacker by the wrists, and used his own force to flip him over onto his back. She then shoved his weapon, a metal rod apparently, down across his throat.

It was only when she met a pair of stormy eyes that she realized her assailant was none other than her commanding officer.

"Ca-Captain Levi?!" she yelped and jumped back off him. Then remembering his injury, she scanned him to make sure he was all right…and instantly regretted it.

He was clothed only in a towel, and nothing else. She could tell because when she looked down at his leg, which lay flat while the other was bent at the knee, she spotted something peeping out from under the piece of cloth just below his waistline…

Her face became a bright beet red, and she quickly turned her body around, both hands flying to her clenched eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

"ACKERMAN, WHAT THE HELL?!" he boomed, scrambling up to his feet and dropping the rod with a clatter. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?! Just what were you doing sneaking around my room?" He gave her a shake to indicate he wanted a response pronto.

"I wasn't sneaking, I was cleaning! You know, like I have been the past two days?" she spat, her gaze averted to the side since she couldn't bring herself to look down or directly at him.

"So you broke in through my window instead of waiting in front of my locked door like a sane person?" he growled.

At that accusation, her head snapped back to shoot him a fierce glare. She couldn't tell if her face was still red from embarrassment or outrage, but at this point she didn't care. "What the hell are you talking about breaking in? Eren let me in on his way out."

This revelation seemed to partly diffuse his anger, since his iron grip on her shoulders started to ease up.

Her own fury began to dissipate along with his. "Now can you please put on some clothes, Captain?" She tried to keep as steady a voice and straight a face as she could muster.

Levi's eyes widened and she could see the faintest tinge of pink appearing on his cheeks as he finally realized his situation. He immediately pushed her aside and rushed back into the bathroom. At any other time, that look on his face would have been priceless, but all Mikasa could think about was planting herself in the nearest chair.

My God, would this nightmare ever end for her? She didn't even have the heart to do anything but remain seated, hunched over with her face in the palms of her hands. It wasn't long before the source of Mikasa's misery and mortification emerged, buttoning up his white shirt quickly and tucking it into his trousers.

"Would you care to explain to me why you were ransacking my room like a bumbling thief?"

"You ran out of newspapers," she answered plainly, sitting up in the chair. When he raised an eyebrow, she explained, "For cleaning your windows. I was looking for more."

He raised a hand briefly to rub the bridge of his nose.

"Is your leg all right?" She was genuinely concerned, but she also wanted to change the subject.

"Yes," he grumbled, "luckily I hit the floor back first."

An awkward silence fell between them, but the Captain didn't budge from his position staring at her. He'd made his face unreadable again, so she couldn't tell if he was still angry with her.

Regardless, Mikasa knew she couldn't work like this. "I think I'll go search for some newspapers and come back in the afternoon to finish the room."

Levi merely nodded. She knew where she could find him later anyway.

Without even a salute in farewell, Mikasa hurriedly departed from his ever-watching presence, making sure to lock the door behind her.

* * *

She walked away from his room at a rapid pace. The teenage girl couldn't take it anymore, and that incident only made it worse. What was going to haunt her next, the image of his near-naked body? If she didn't get ahold of herself fast, it was only going to lead to more embarrassment.

Soon enough, Mikasa's quick strides turned into a jog and then a full out sprint. Short, jet black hair flying out behind her, she dashed through the halls, not caring who was or wasn't up yet to hear her. She had no idea where she was headed, but she knew she just had to get away from _him._

Maybe she should take Eren's advice after all and find help. It was the best idea she could come up with right now to put an end to this turmoil. Perhaps if she talked with someone who could walk her through her feelings, then she could finally have some peace of mind.

Mikasa ran through a list of people in her head. Eren was a definite no. Armin likely too. In fact, she didn't think any males would understand. Krista and Sasha would be much too nosy. That left only one person she could turn to. And thankfully, she already knew that woman would be up at this hour. Skidding sharply around a corner to the right, she headed toward an office next to the research lab.

* * *

It didn't take long for Hanji Zoe to answer her timid knock on the door.

"Eh? Mikasa?" she asked in surprise. "If you're looking for Eren, you just missed him."

The girl shook her head. "Actually I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about a…personal matter."

"Oh, well then, come in, come in!" she ushered the cadet to a table, which they sat down at together. Mikasa could tell by the bags under her eyes that the older woman had been up all night, but she somehow was maintaining her usual energy. "Moblit!" she called into the room attached to her office.

For a second, Mikasa's pulse picked up at the prospect of someone else being present during this.

"Yes, Ma'am?" Her second-in-command soon appeared.

"Get yourself lost for about a half hour," Hanji calmly ordered.

"Ma'am?" The confusion was evident in his countenance and voice.

The Squad Leader flicked her hand away from herself. "You heard me, shoo!"

With another acknowledgement and salute, he left via the front door of the office.

Turning back to her guest, she kindly asked, "Can I get you anything? Tea or some other drink?"

Mikasa politely shook her head. "No, thank you though. I just needed to ask you about something."

"Oh, go right ahead." She stopped to pour herself a cup of green tea from the tea set in front of her.

Mikasa hesitated, not quite sure how to phrase her question. "It's about… Um…" Luckily, Hanji was a patient person and gave her plenty of time to continue. "Please don't tell anyone I asked you about this, but...how do you know if you love someone or it's just a physical attraction?"

"Oh ho ho, so you're finally making a move on Eren!" Hanji beamed.

"Well, not exactly…" She blushed and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It's just…uh… I don't know how to explain it." Mikasa shook her head. This was a bad idea. She should think of a way to get herself out of there.

"I can't imagine it could be about someone else." Hanji gave a laugh. It was short-lived, however, at the sight of the grimace on the girl's face. "No…really?" Her mouth and rimmed eyes gaping, she leaned in closer to the cadet.

"I should go," Mikasa said stiffly, standing up.

Scrambling to shove her back down in the seat, the Squad Leader practically knocked over her chair and the table. "No, no, no, I didn't mean it as a bad thing. It was just—what's the word?—unexpected."

Mikasa did her best to return her face back to its usual stoicism.

"So, who is it? Who could catch the eye of the woman worth a hundred soldiers~?" Hanji continued with a flourish of the hand.

"I'd rather not say." Mikasa's voice was curt enough that the older woman caught her drift not to push it.

"Oh, fine, but at least tell me all about him." She settled back down in her own seat, taking a big swig of her green tea. "…It is a him, right?"

Mikasa merely nodded. Seeing that she'd already gone too far to back out now, she took a few minutes to gather her thoughts. "You know how we train around…guys…all day?" The girl in the hot seat wanted to be as ambiguous as she could about it. "Sometimes with them wearing little clothing?"

Hanji bobbed her head up and down, still maintaining her attentive gaze.

"I was never interested in any of them, or _him_, for that matter when I saw them like that…until recently." She leaned back and sighed, a hand moving to her forehead. "I only saw him once in that state, and now I can't stop thinking about him. I keep seeing his face, and body, everywhere." As her onyx eyes met Hanji's brown, she decided it was best not to even touch on what happened this morning. "Am I crazy or is this just a case of hormones?"

"Hmm, it's too early to tell, it being a single encounter and all," Hanji mused. Her thin hand rubbed her chin in thought. "But this is different from how you feel about Eren?"

"Yes." She gave another blush at the mention of her adoptive brother's name. Mikasa really needed to learn to stop doing that when she thought about him.

Hanji reached over to top off her cup of tea. "Well then, why don't you ask this new guy out?"

"No," she firmly replied.

"Why not?"

"He's an asshole."

The auburn-haired woman gave a hearty chuckle. "I'll let you in on a secret: a lot of men are until you get to know them." She raised the refreshed teacup to her lips. "Take Captain Levi, for example."

Mikasa nearly choked on her own saliva. Of all the examples she could have come up with… Now she was glad she had declined the tea, for at this point, she would have spit it out in Hanji's face. Luckily, the other woman had her eyes closed as she savored the warm liquid, otherwise she would have seen the perturbed look Mikasa's face had contorted into.

"Quite frankly, to everyone, he's the king of all asses. I'm sure you've experienced that firsthand," Hanji explained. "But I've known Levi for years, and deep down, he really cares about his men. He might not have shown it, but he was devastated at the loss of his last squad."

Mikasa's mind flashed back to the morning that had started it all: how the Captain had examined her with such concern, and the way his hand had gently brushed her forehead…

"He hates unnecessary casualties too. He'd rather not bear witness to them or be a cause of them. That's why he didn't participate in the final battle against Annie with his injury until he was absolutely needed."

The dark-haired girl let the information process in her mind. She hadn't really thought about the incident like that.

"So, maybe your guy will be the same way. Worst case, he is a jerk and you dump him, plain and simple. But you'll never know until you try."

Mikasa nodded. "Thank you, Hanji. I think I understand now."

"Good! I can't wait to meet him!"

Mikasa couldn't help but give a half-hearted smile to the other's huge grin. "Just don't…expect anything any time soon."

"Believe me, I have all the time in the world. Oh, speaking of which, I guess I should get some sleep now. These overnight experiments really throw off my sense of time."

The young soldier stood up slowly and made for the exit. Something still nagged at the back of her mind, though. It wasn't until she reached the door that she could put the question into words. "By the way, Hanji, what do I do if he outranks me?"

The female scientist pursed her lips and brought a hand up to her chin again. "If that's the case, I would suggest letting Commander Erwin know as soon as possible. There are protocols to follow for such relationships in the Survey Corps code, but I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem so long as you aren't in the same squadron."

Mikasa turned in time so that the woman wouldn't see her face fall. "I see… Thank you again, Hanji. You've been most helpful."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Least I can do after all the work I put you and Eren through." She waved her hand dismissively toward the teenage girl. "Just don't forget to introduce me~!"

Click went the door behind her before the Squad Leader could finish her sentence. Mikasa let out a deep breath and slowly walked back to her room. She could hear the bells tolling the start of a new day.

Ask him out, huh? Levi sure as hell didn't seem like the dating type. They already spent two hours—well, three now with class—out of the day together. Did that count? What would they even do together if, on the off chance, they were a couple?

As she passed by the communal bathroom, she heard someone shout, "Hey, whaddya think you're doing?"

"Grabbing this shower while the water's still hot. Got a problem with that, Shumaker?"

"Yeah, I do. I was here first."

At this, Mikasa stopped. Curiosity got the better of her.

This time, a third voice chimed in. "Better give up, Shumaker. Or don't you remember the ass-whooping we gave you yesterday?"

Their target responded, "I didn't put up with bullying before I joined the Corps, and I'm not about to start now."

"Suit yourself," hissed the first one. Instantly, she heard the sound of a fist striking flesh. Mikasa's eyes narrowed. Turning on her heel, she walked straight into the shower room.

She could see a group of three young men, all in towels. One with dark brown hair towered over a fair-haired one who was on the floor, holding his cheek. Another one with sandy blond hair and blue eyes leaned against the side of a nearby wall.

"I wouldn't call it bullying so much as learning your place," spat the instigator. He landed a kick with his barefoot into his victim's abdomen.

That settled it for Mikasa. In the blink of an eye, she landed a solid punch to the dark-haired man's stomach and followed it with an uppercut, which sent him flying back a few feet before he landed hard on the slippery tile floor.

"What the hell?!" his friend on the wall exclaimed. "You'll pay for that." She could sense the punch aimed straight for the back of her head, and she easily ducked it. A simple elbow backwards rendered him breathless. She quickly whirled around and followed with a throw over her shoulder, using the man's still outstretched arm.

After making sure her assailants posed no further threat, Mikasa stood up straight and dusted herself off. She then offered an arm to the man in shock on the floor. "Better take that shower before the water gets cold," she calmly suggested, not even winded.

He nodded and wordlessly took her proffered arm. Once she helped him up, she made her way out of the bathroom. Mikasa stopped for a moment outside to make sure there would be no further trouble. Hearing none, she quickly made her way back to her room. The little skirmish had given her an idea.

* * *

Sighing, Captain Levi crumpled up yet another document he had ruined and tossed it into the wastebasket off to his left. He hadn't had this much trouble with his concentration in quite a long time. But he couldn't help replay the events of that morning in his head.

He couldn't believe his own foolishness in not figuring out it was Ackerman in his room, much less in thinking he actually needed to arm himself. Levi was humanity's strongest. He would have been able to deal with any intruder, armed or otherwise, with his bare hands. Maybe it was just an old habit of his.

Then for her to subdue him so easily—it was an embarrassment, even more so than being seen practically naked. He tried to think back to what had hindered his usually sharp reflexes.

It had to be her eyes. For a brief second, he'd seen a flicker of something in them: pure survival instinct, the kind he only saw in combat. He remembered how his heart had stopped at the sight and how he'd frozen long enough for her to grab his wrists. The next thing he knew, she was on top of him, the glimmer he'd seen being extinguished.

It was different from the defiant fire he was used to seeing in those orbs. He hated that look of audacity that appeared during their altercations. Sure it was fun to goad her into it sometimes, but more often than not, it was a reminder of her insubordination, the same that caused his current handicap.

Levi set his pen down. He was getting nowhere with his work thinking such thoughts.

But what was it about the first look that made him feel so different? He had to admit, she was beautiful in that state, and the mere memory of it sent a thrill up his spine. Levi would much rather see those eyes again. He remembered forlornly hoping they would appear once more as she sat mute across from him in his room. Instead, she had taken off.

Not that he could blame her. The whole situation had been awkward for the both of them. He wondered if he should make himself scarce today while she worked. It seemed to help her the other day.

A knock at his door roused him from his musings. "Come in," he called automatically. It took him a second to realize that he wasn't expecting anyone this morning.

In walked the subject of his present thoughts, carrying a stack of newspapers.

"Ackerman, what are you doing here?" Again, another involuntary response. He really needed to get ahold of himself. "Don't you have chores to finish up?"

She merely gave him a stoic look—at least she was making eye contact again. He was surprised she even had the nerve to be back so soon after her previous hasty exit. "I finished early. I'm just here to drop these off so that I remember to take them to your room later."

"Set them over there then." He carelessly waved a hand in the general direction of door. She interpreted that as a spot on the floor near the entrance and did as she was told. However, instead of leaving now that her task was finished, she simply stood there, watching him. "Did you need something else, Ackerman?" He started scribbling on a new sheet of paper to make himself look busy.

Levi could see her hesitate for a moment from the corner of his eye. "If I may make a personal request, Sir…" she trailed off.

This caught his attention, and he looked up at her more fully. She was trying to regain her composure after her nervousness cut her appeal short. "I'm listening." His voice was not eager nor discouraging, just firm enough to give her a little prod.

One last gulp was all she seemed to need. "When your ankle gets better, can I…undergo combat training with you?"

He felt his heart leap in his chest at the proposition. Something inside him wanted to consent right then, but he managed to restrain the feeling. Instead, he kept his cool gaze and raised a thin eyebrow at her.

"I know you're the best, and I want to learn from you…so that I can protect Eren better," she explained.

The last part felt like a jagged knife to the gut. "Oh, for _Eren_," he bitterly spat before he could stop himself. So much for his previous self-control. "For a second there, I forgot who was talking to me. I could have sworn you were someone looking to better yourself for your own personal development. My mistake."

That defiant spark appeared once more. He could see it now that she wasn't avoiding his eyes like the plague. "I do want to get better. I want to be the best," she insisted.

"Then you're going to have to learn to think about yourself," he put bluntly. "I don't want you dropping everything if _wittle Eren gets a boo-boo_." The mocking tone he used at the end appeared to get her blood boiling. "This desire to protect him is what keeps you going, is it not? What if he gets eaten by a titan tomorrow? Boom, motivation gone. That would have been a shitty waste of my time."

He feigned turning his attention back to paperwork, and soon enough, a slender hand slammed itself on his desk. "I would still continue the training, if only to rid the world of the titans that stole my only family."

Levi could feel a headache coming on. She still missed the point, but she was getting closer at least. He gave her the coldest stare he could muster. "Let me put this in simpler terms. If I spend my time on you, I expect a return on my investment. I need a titan-killing machine who follows orders. Someone who won't be swayed by her incestuous emotions."

He held up a hand to silence her as her face turned blood red.

"Self-motivation would have been ideal, but if you can focus on improving for the sake of the Survey Corps, I will train you. I can promise you right now it will not be easy, and you will have to follow instructions you may not agree with…"

"I'll take it." That fire had not once been extinguished, but there was something in it this time that he didn't mind seeing: her determination.

"Good. We start in three weeks. I'd suggest not slacking off until then. Your throw this morning was rather weak."

Clearly wanting to hide the loathing she was feeling, Mikasa spun around and headed for the door without saying another word. Levi gave a satisfied smirk when her departure was accompanied by a slam. Personal training with Ackerman, huh? The prospect of seeing that combat ferocity in her eyes on a daily basis made him feel something akin to excitement.


	5. Chapter 5

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

A/N: As will be apparent later on, I'm going to have to make up stuff from Levi's background (although I'll base it as closely to canon as I can.) Hard to keep it accurate when it's an ongoing story. Oh, and sorry for the short chapter. It seemed like a good place to stop before the next part.

Chapter 5

Mikasa couldn't believe she was still entertaining the idea of giving that jackass a chance. Too late to go back on her plan now, though, even if it wouldn't start for a few weeks. Maybe she shouldn't have used Eren as a cover like that, since it seemed to set the Captain off, but if she hadn't, she knew he'd be suspicious of her motives. Oh well, she would have eventually sought out his training one way or another she was sure, regardless of feelings. What she had said was nowhere near a lie; he was the best, and as such, it was only logical she would want him to train her.

At least with the prospect of finally sorting out her emotions once they began training, she found it much easier to face him without conjuring up those pesky images of his handsome body.

Mikasa could feel Armin's intent stare on her during class that day. She wondered if he was sorely disappointed when she was able to maintain her pokerface throughout the lesson, or when she fell into the Captain's traps to get a rise out of her by picking on Eren. The dark-haired girl didn't care, so long as it would keep him from asking one more damn time if she was okay with her new chores. Don't get her wrong, she loved him like a brother too, but his constant watch over her was starting to get annoying.

The rest of her day flew by as normal. Once she cleaned up after 3DMG practice, she made her way to her now familiar workplace. She only knocked on the office door out of courtesy, even though she knew she wouldn't be interrupting anything. Mikasa barely paid the muffled acknowledgement any mind as she let herself in.

They both worked at their own tasks in silence for quite some time. Mikasa whimsically imagined that a first date with him might be quite similar, with neither of them willing to break the ice.

At one point, though, she noticed he wasn't writing anymore. Instead, he was gazing out his window with an utterly bored expression on his face. He rested his chin on one hand while he tapped his pen absently against the table with the other. Mikasa could sympathize, since she was getting to that point with her work as well.

"Where did you learn your spin technique with the 3DMG?" she asked offhandedly without really thinking.

This jerked him back to attention, and for a moment, he simply blinked at her. He then sat up and cleared his throat. "It was a standard maneuver in my second squad with the Survey Corps," he stated, resuming his paperwork shortly afterward.

"So they taught you everything you know?" Mikasa tossed out there while she went back to scrubbing the floor.

"I wouldn't say everything, but a lot, yes." Levi flipped to a fresh page. "Now if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it."

"I see…" She figured the memory of them must have been painful, so she left that topic alone. However, another question popped into her mind just as randomly as the first. "What did you do before joining the Survey Corps then?"

He paused mid-stroke to comment, "You're quite nosy today, you know that, Ackerman?"

She shrugged. "I didn't know slogging away at paperwork was that important to you. So important that you were staring at the clouds. My mistake." Mikasa raised her head up in time to meet his fierce glare.

After a moment, he gave a sigh and turned back to his desk. "I was a criminal in the Underground."

Mikasa's eyes went wide. "A criminal?"

"One of the best. My friends and I would do anything for the right price: theft, murder, drug smuggling…"

"Human trafficking?" Mikasa queried with a waver in her voice. She could feel a knot forming in her stomach.

He paused and looked at her, his expression turned to stone again. "No, I refused to cross that line. Those bastards were the lowest of scum. Sometimes I'd kill them for sport if I got drunk enough."

The raven-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now if you're quite done with your little interrogation, I have a few reports to finish."

Mikasa merely nodded as he turned back to his work. She would leave it at that for the day. Focusing back on the floor, she had given it a few more scrubs when his dull voice spoke once more.

"Oh and Ackerman."

She could hear a metal object being flicked in her direction. The kneeling girl single-handedly caught it over her head without so much as looking up. She brought it down to her level and curiously peered at the item in her palm. Mikasa instantly recognized it as the key to his room.

"Make sure to lock up and bring that back once you're done. The window had better be spotless with all the trouble you're going through for it."

* * *

The next few days went by quickly for Mikasa. Her cleaning duties with the Captain went in much the same manner. It didn't always end in such amicable terms, though. Sometimes they ended up in verbal sparring sessions, with Levi winning most of the time. However, there was one time when Mikasa scored a small victory.

One afternoon, they got into a discussion about the Captain's infamous quirk. "So you're telling me you've been a clean freak ever since you lived in the Underground?" she asked him pointedly.

"Oy, you don't have to keep calling me that." Levi rubbed at the back of his neck. He'd been hunched over his desk for far too long today already.

Mikasa reached into the closet to retrieve some rags she would need. "I always imagined the Underground as a filthy area. It's a wonder you could keep your own place clean long enough."

"I made due with what I had."

She left the office briefly to retrieve some fresh water, but she made sure to continue the conversation when she got back. "Cleaning supplies are expensive, though. If you were living from job to job, you'd barely have enough money for them and food."

"I didn't say I could afford them," Levi coolly replied, adding another sheet to the stack on his right. "Like I said, I made due with what I had. So it's not like I was able to get it as clean as you're doing now."

The girl paused and couldn't help but give a slight smile. "Hm, is that a compliment on my cleaning I hear?"

"Tch. I never said it was bad," he grumbled.

"Yes, you did." She frowned at him. "Every. Single. Day."

Levi coughed. For the rest of the hour, he didn't say another word to her.

* * *

Eren was glad to see his sister was back to normal. In fact, he would have to say she seemed much happier. It'd been five days since their talk in the hallway, and in that time, he noticed she was more engaged in their conversations and smiled more often. After they had breakfast together, he walked her to the site of her chores like usual before splitting off to his. Today was the start of a new job cycle, so Mikasa was now on stables duty while he and Armin would be mopping up the castle floors.

Once they reached the entryway to the outdoor building, he started to say their customary good-byes. However, Mikasa interrupted him. "Ne, Eren…"

The brown-haired boy tilted his head to the side. A troubled look had suddenly appeared on her face, so he wondered what could possibly be the matter.

"Do you mind if I don't go to your experiments today?" Her onyx eyes took a new interest in her feet. "I really want to get in some extra training."

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Normally Mikasa would do anything to make sure he was okay during Hanji's crazy experiments, even if none of them were anywhere near fatal. She'd once cleaned the whole kitchen in 30 minutes flat so she could get out on time to see him. "Are…Are you sure?" was all that he could croak out.

His sister bobbed her head slightly. "I haven't had a chance to do any in the last few days. I don't want to lose my edge."

"I guess, if that's what you really want," he agreed reluctantly. If it had been any other week, he might have been rejoicing at a break from her overprotectiveness, but in light of recent events, it only made him worried…and a little bit sad.

She pulled him in for a quick hug before giving a small smile. "It is. Thank you for understanding, Eren." With that, she turned and headed into the stables. The teenage boy could only raise his hand in a slight wave as her back disappeared from view.

* * *

"She what?!" Armin gasped as he and Eren walked together in the open, grassy area.

The emerald-eyed boy stretched out his arm a bit. "Yeah, that's how I felt. Said something about wanting to do extra training."

Armin pursed his lips. "Did she seem moody this morning like she was before?"

"Hey, you saw her at breakfast too. Everything was fine."

"Yeah, you're right. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary." The bewildered teenager reached up to scratch the back of his blond head.

By this time, they had just walked into view of a waving Hanji Zoe. "Yoohoo, boys~!" She was standing by the well where they would be conducting today's experiments, but soon enough, she was jogging up to meet them. "Should we wait for Mikasa? You know she'd kill me if I laid a finger on you without her permission," Hanji joked with a chuckle.

"Um…" Eren started nervously, not quite sure how to break the news. "Mikasa's…not coming."

"Wait, what'd you say?!" The woman's jaw dropped. "Is she sick? Do I need to go get the medic?"

Eren waved his hands in front of him. "No, no, she's perfectly healthy. She's got some training she wanted to do instead, no big deal."

"Yeah, she's been fine almost all week, actually in a better mood than several days ago," Armin chimed in.

"Is that so…?" There was a creepy gleam in Hanji's eyes. "Maybe because of a certain boy perhaps?"

The two friends looked at each other, confused.

"A boy? Are you talking about me?" Eren asked and pointed to himself. "I haven't done anything special."

Hanji's smile instantly turned into a frown. "Oh, so she hasn't been going out with anyone?"

"Going out?!" The two teenagers gawked at the same time.

"What hell are you talking about?" Eren demanded.

Realization seemed to dawn on the scientist's face. "Ah, I just thought…you know, with her being in better spirits… Oh, never mind I said anything." She gestured dismissively at them with a single hand.

Armin's eyes narrowed. "Hanji, is there something we should know about Mikasa?"

"No, no, just me being silly and jumping to conclusions and all." She gave a shaky laugh. In an instant, though, her face turned scary. "Don't you tell her anything I said, got it?"

The boys reeled back at the look she was giving them, their courage disappearing like a puff of smoke. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Good, now Eren, into the well. We're going to practice generating titan legs."

The dark-haired boy sighed, "Yes, Hanji."

* * *

The Squad Leader's words still rang in Eren's mind.

"_Oh, so she hasn't been going out with anyone?"_

Now he couldn't get the idea out of his head. Was Mikasa seeing someone behind his back? Is that why she skipped his experiments? If that were true then…

Eren clenched the hands at his side as he lay on the hard bed. Anger started to well up inside of him. Why couldn't she just tell him the truth? There wasn't anything about him that she didn't already know, so what was with the secrets all of a sudden?

At the same time, sorrow hung like a weight on his chest. If someone else had replaced him in her heart then what would become of him? What would become of _them_? They had been inseparable since childhood. He couldn't imagine a life without her always there by his side.

So that night, as he attempted to sleep in his dungeon cell, he resolved to do what any normal brother would do in this situation: spy on his sister.


	6. Chapter 6

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

Chapter 6

The next day right before breakfast, Eren pulled Armin aside and confided his plan to him. To his relief, his best friend seemed to be on board with the idea. He even offered to cover for him to the Sergeant in charge of their chores. Luckily, Hanji had no experiments planned for him that day either.

He saw Mikasa during most of the day, like during drills and meals, so the only times he'd have to worry about watching her were during morning duties and her new "extra training."

After escorting his sister as usual to the stables, he snuck around the back entrance and found a good hiding spot behind some hay bales to spy on her. However, the brown-haired teenager got bored about five minutes into his watch. Seeing her shovel horse shit could only be interesting for so long.

It wasn't until a tall man approached her when his head perked up. Could this be the guy? He had light brown hair and blue eyes and a muscular build. Eren didn't catch his rank, but she saluted him politely.

"At ease. Good morning to you too, Ackerman," his deep voice resounded in the barn. "I see Braus and Cohen are running late."

"Yes, Sir, Sasha should be here shortly. I'm not sure of Robert's whereabouts, I'm afraid." Her voice didn't waver, and her face kept its stoic look. Eren guessed this guy must be her supervisor.

The older man nodded. "Carry on then. Let them know when they arrive that the horses will need a better brush-down today. Captain Levi was here the other day and commented on how his was filthy."

Mikasa's face slipped into a scowl for the briefest of seconds before she turned her head and quickly gave an acknowledgement as he walked away.

Eren sat back on his haunches and sighed in relief. Everything seemed normal so far.

"Mikasaaaaaa~!" The high-pitched wail of a female voice came from the entrance Eren had come in through. Caught off guard, he scrambled to make himself as flat against the wall as possible. "Sorry I'm late!" Sasha burst in almost out of breath.

The auburn-haired girl rushed past Eren's hiding place. He waited a few seconds to make sure she hadn't noticed him before releasing a breath he'd been holding and wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. That was a close one.

Unfortunately, in her hurry, she didn't see the pail of droppings on the floor until her right foot was planted directly in it. With a disgusted squeal, she started hopping backward on the other foot, trying to fling the stuck bucket off her boot.

"Sasha, look out!" Mikasa called, but it was too late.

The cadet had jumped backwards into the giant pile of hay bales, knocking them over. Eren tried his best to stifle a yelp as the dense, golden bundles came crashing down on him.

* * *

The young titan-shifter was still picking hay from inside of his clothes as he tailed his sister for what had to be the last leg of his day. There was nothing remarkable about the training session he'd followed her to later on that morning. It was simply her doing some weight-lifting and practicing on a punching bag in the rec room. Even though she had been surrounded by physically fit men in tight or barely any clothing, she didn't bat an eye at any one of them.

Eren didn't know why he bothered to follow her for this last part. He knew all she was doing was going to Captain Levi's office to clean it.

He peered cautiously around the corner down the hallway. Mikasa had just knocked on his door and let herself in. Eren tip-toed the rest of the way until he was standing right outside where she'd disappeared. He didn't know what compelled him, but he decided he might as well listen in for a few minutes before leaving empty-handed.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, Captain," Mikasa said as soon as she'd closed the door behind her. She was greeted by a blank stare from the man sitting behind the desk.

His voice didn't seem to show any irritation at least. "Two minutes past your usual. That's not like you, Ackerman."

"I took the long way here, Sir. It feels like someone's been watching me all day." A hunch told her not to stray too far from the entrance.

The dark-haired man seemed to sense something too. Ever so subtly, he made a motion with his head toward the door behind her. "I never took you to be a paranoid one, Ackerman."

Mikasa caught his drift. "I'd like to call it being cautious, Sir. Better than getting careless." She quietly backed up, not even making a creak on the floorboards. "You never know when it may pay off. Like, for example—" With one quick motion, she turned and pulled the door open, causing a body with dark brown hair to tumble into the office. "—when someone's eavesdropping," she finished with a grunt, hauling the intruder by the collar on the back of his jacket and pinning him up against the nearest wall. She was about to land a blow to subdue him when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Mi-Mikasa, wait!" Her brother mumbled out while his face was half-smashed against the plaster. Her right arm froze in its pulled back position, and her onyx eyes went wide.

"Eren, what the…?" She immediately dropped him to the ground. He landed with an "umph" and rubbed at his cheekbone. "What are you doing here? Was that you this whole time?" A million other unvoiced questions swam in her head.

Mikasa could see his face turning red, and he didn't dare look up at her. "Well, I uh… You see… Not exactly…"

"Jaeger!" Levi's booming call interrupted them. Eren's back stiffened. Then in a quieter voice, he drawled, "Funny you should _drop_ in."

The boy scrambled to his feet and gave his commanding officer a clumsy salute.

Captain Levi hardly acknowledged him as he continued, "Sergeant Blake was in earlier to complain about Squad Leader Hanji's experiments taking you away from your chores today. And when those chores involve cleaning, you know I get…concerned."

Mikasa could hear her brother audibly gulp.

"So imagine my surprise when I banged Shitty Glasses' door down over it and she said you weren't even scheduled for an experiment today. Now tell me, Jaeger…" At this, the Captain slowly rose from his desk and ambled over until he was mere inches from his cadet. "…if you weren't doing your chores this morning, and you weren't being sliced open like a lab rat, where the hell were you?" The older man reached over to pluck a piece of hay from inside the boy's jacket.

The teenage girl's eyes narrowed at the sight of the yellow filament. As she noticed more hidden on his person, she couldn't fathom why she hadn't seen them before. Now the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, much as she didn't want to believe it. Eren bit his lip, clearly not wanting to fess up while she was boring holes into his head with her glare.

After about a minute, the older man sighed, "Maybe I don't even want to know. But lying to a superior officer is still grounds for punishment." Turning toward his window, he ordered, "Fifty laps around the castle, now! I'll be watching you from here. And if you miss one goddamn lap, I'm making it a hundred. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!" Eren saluted again. As he turned to run out the door, his emerald eyes briefly met hers. She didn't attempt to hide the hurt in them, and that must have made him freeze in his tracks. "Mikasa, I…"

"You'd better get going." Her voice was cold, but she didn't care. His confession that he was spying on her would be too little too late. She didn't want to hear any of it right now.

"Now, Jaeger! Before I throw you out this window!" Captain Levi threatened harshly.

Terrified, Eren dashed out the door and let it slam shut behind him. It wasn't until afterward when the Captain fixed his emotionless gaze on her. "Well, this is quite the change from this morning, Ackerman."

Mikasa didn't have the energy to hide the confusion on her face. "Sir?"

"Earlier in class, you objected to me making him write ten sentences on the board for punishment. Now you don't care I'm making him run fifty laps." A slight smirk appeared on his face. "Betrayal hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?"

She scowled and stormed over to the supply closet. Trying her best to keep her voice steady, she replied, "I'm sure there's a good explanation, but I'd rather not talk about this." She yanked out bottles of cleaner and some newspaper before joining him at the window, only she was there to clean it, not revel in her brother's punishment.

As she reached out to grasp the first glass pane, she could feel him step closer to her. Mikasa tried to tell herself he was just getting a better view of her brother's suffering. When she leaned back to grab the spray bottle, however, she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Funny how you defend him up until he wrongs you. Maybe you should stop doting on that brat and let him grow up on his own."

She stiffened but merely turned back to her work. "I've already started doing that, for your information," she stated plainly. "I didn't go to his experiment with Hanji yesterday."

At that, she abruptly stopped her rough scrubs on the squeaky window. She didn't go with him like she usually did… That's right, even though she had made sure to get his consent, somehow she suspected he really wasn't okay with it.

Now lost in her own train of thought, she murmured more to herself than the Captain, "He must have been worried about me again." Knowing her reckless brother, it might have driven him to act on some crazy ideas, one of which led to this mess. She didn't bother looking back at the man behind her as she resumed talking to him. "Eren was probably spying out of concern for me. But thanks to you, I've just now realized that."

"Tch." She could feel him back away, which made her relax slightly. "If you're working on distancing yourself from the brat, you could have gone a little less overboard in class then."

Mikasa scoffed, "And make Armin go back to watching me like a rat in a cage? No thanks."

"Hmmm." For a moment, she could have sworn she heard a hint of amusement in that utterance. "Deceiving your friends too? Makes me wonder what's going on in that head of yours." With that, he limped back to the desk, not bothering to supervise the young titan-shifter any longer. "Whatever it is, I'd suggest you get your shit together before tomorrow's test. I trust you won't let me down."

Mikasa's face turned back to stone as she continued her work. For the rest of her session, she didn't even want to talk to that irritating excuse for a man.

* * *

Armin caught a gasping and very sweaty Eren in the hallway on the way back to his room. It took several minutes for the dark-haired boy to explain what had happened in between breaths.

"But what about Mikasa? Did you see her with anyone?" Armin inquired.

Eren slumped against the wall just outside his quarters. The blond took this opportunity to run and grab a glass of water for his friend. The tired boy greedily drank the cool liquid in one long gulp.

"No…no one," Eren panted slowly, wiping some dribbled water off his mouth. "And she didn't…put up a fight…against the Captain…when he gave me…my punishment."

"Really? After what happened in class today?" Armin sat down beside his friend. He still kept a bit of distance between them, though, since he could smell Eren's body odor from across the hall.

"Yeah, it was like…someone had torn…out her heart…and left…her body…to scold me." The other teenager ran both his hands through his messy chocolate-brown hair. "Not that I…could blame her…really. This was…a stupid idea." Once he finally caught his breath after a few minutes, he slowly tried to get to his feet. Armin had to help him steady himself. "I need to hit the showers, but I'll see you at dinner."

The blond nodded. "You should talk to her at least."

"I know, I will." Eren waved a hand dismissively as he stumbled away, his legs wobbling like jelly. "Doesn't mean I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

He had been a damn fool, all over nothing. Eren couldn't stop berating himself as he and Armin walked toward the wooden dining table where all their friends were chatting. He quickly scanned the group and felt a mixture of relief and disappointment that his sister wasn't there yet.

As they both took their usual seats, Eren barely paid attention to the current conversation.

"I'm sure he's just going to have us use a regular titan dummy to practice on," Connie commented.

Jean snorted. "You forget that this is Captain Levi we're talking about. He'll have something scary set up for tomorrow's test I'm sure."

"Scary like how, Jean?" Sasha chimed in. Her tray was empty now, so she pulled an extra loaf of bread from inside her jacket that she must've snuck out of the kitchen.

"Like hell I would know. But you know how the Captain always has some surprise." He stopped to take a big gulp of his water.

"A week would be too short to make anything elaborate," Armin contributed. "At most he could modify a 15 m dummy to have extra pads on the arms, legs, and neck where we have to target."

The young titan-shifter suddenly noticed Connie leering at him. "I'm really curious what he's going to have Eren do." The boy with the buzz-cut gave him a mischievous grin.

Connie must have noticed Eren was not in the mood to get involved in their banter like he usually was. Jean seemed to pick up on this too and joined in on the fun. "Maybe he'll tie Eren up to the head of the titan dummy so he can feel what it's like to have our blades dancing all around him."

"Hey, you guys stop that!" Krista chided. "You're making him more nervous about the test."

Eren had just realized he was unconsciously fidgeting with his stew instead of eating it. The blond girl was way off about him, but he could see how his anxious actions could be interpreted as nerves. He was more worried about when a certain raven-haired teenager would appear than whatever was in store for him tomorrow.

"He might be able to acquire two dummies so that we could practice our two-titan maneuvers as well," Armin mused. "That way Eren could be tested too."

The dark-haired boy could hear the others chiming in with their thoughts, but it all suddenly turned to background noise as a tall girl walked into the mess hall. Eren didn't wait for her to come over to them. He was up on his feet in an instant and heading her way.

The tone of the babble from his friends shifted abruptly at his departure, but he didn't care. All he could focus on was the person he cared about most and making amends.

* * *

Mikasa had taken but a few steps into the large room when she spotted her brother making his way quickly over to her. She didn't even have to ask him what he wanted as she set her dinner tray on an empty spot at a nearby table and walked with him outside.

The sun had set below the horizon, and its dying light was no match against the quickly darkening indigo engulfing the sky. A chilly autumn breeze ruffled both their jackets.

Because they knew each other so well, they didn't have to voice the first few lines of their conversation. A simple exchange of looks sufficed.

_You had something to say to me?_

_Yeah, I'm sorry._

_Why, Eren? Why did you do it?_

The boy sighed and leaned back against the stone wall before explaining, "You might laugh at this, but after you didn't go to my experiments the other day, I got this crazy notion you might have a boyfriend or someone you were seeing instead."

Mikasa tensed, but a particularly cold wind had passed at just that moment, so she rubbed her arms to pretend it was because of that. "Boyfriend…? What made you think that?"

For the briefest of seconds, Eren's face had contorted into the expression he usually had when faced with one of Hanji's scary looks. He then nervously blurted out, "It…It was all Armin's idea!" The boy cowered back a bit, as if expecting someone to smack him. When she didn't make a move, he added with his gaze lowered, "I couldn't think of any other reason why you wouldn't be up front with me like usual."

Mikasa turned away to hide her irritation. "I see… Well, are you and he satisfied now?"

Her brother slowly nodded. "I'm sorry for sneaking around like that. I was just desperate to know…if I'd been replaced."

Twin onyx orbs softened at the last part. 'No one could ever take your place, Eren,' she thought to herself, wanting so badly to voice this. 'Not even _him_…'

"I should have just asked. After all, we've never hidden anything from each other before."

"Yeah…that's right." A chill ran down Mikasa's back, and she was sure it wasn't because of the outside temperature. "I should apologize too, for speaking so curtly to you earlier, when it was my own fault for not further explaining myself."

Eren merely tipped his head to the side and gave her a quizzical look.

She took a deep breath before continuing, "The Captain agreed to give me personal combat training when he's better. With the new chores, I haven't had the extra time I need to train, so I had to fit it in somewhere. You know I'd hate to lose to that midget bastard. And…I trust Hanji to take care of you."

The teenage boy bobbed his head in understanding. "So that's all it was, huh? I really am an idiot."

Mikasa placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Please relay that to Armin, so that he stops worrying too. I appreciate you both care about me, but trust that I can take care of myself."

"Yeah." She could see the sparkle returning to his emerald eyes. "Let's get back to the others. We both need to eat up in preparation for the Captain's test tomorrow."

Mikasa gave him an amused smile. "I guess this means Sasha gets less of my dinner tonight then."

Her brother laughed as they turned to go inside. While they made the trek back, she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach. Even though what she'd told him was the truth, it wasn't the complete story. She couldn't help but feel that was same thing as lying to him. Ironic that she asked him to trust her when her actions showed she deserved it the least.

For now, though, she forced herself to push those thoughts to the back of her head. She joined Eren in a reassuring wave to her friends as she retrieved her abandoned meal tray and made her way to sit with them. Thoughts of the Captain and her growing feelings for him also had to take a backseat. In this moment, she just wanted to enjoy the time she had with her only remaining family, and the friends they had made together.

* * *

Everything about her was like clockwork. He could set a new watch to her punctuality. Not only that, but she had also perfectly synced her routine with Levi's whenever she came to clean.

Get partly dressed after a shower, unlock the door, she was knocking two seconds later. Finish his shave, walk out of the bathroom to put the finishing touches on his wardrobe, she was cleaning the sink five seconds later.

This morning, though, as he opened up one of his wardrobe drawers, he was met with an empty spot.

"Ackerman, where's my—?"

"Your last clean cravat is hanging on the mirror already," came her reply from the bathroom. "I'll be washing the rest with the laundry today."

"Tch. Cutting it close," he grumbled.

"Your harness is on the bed, since I'm assuming you'll want that for today's test. Boots are at the foot of it. I stuck the papers you need to bring to the Commander in the doorway so you'd remember to take them."

Sure enough, the sealed packet was wedged between the doorjamb and the door just above the knob. Levi rolled his eyes. "As if I would forget."

"You would for about a minute then call me over to hand it to you on your way out like you did three days ago."

The Captain felt a twitch coming on.

After putting on his harness, he worked on his cravat in the mirror. He couldn't help but stare at the slender form working away in the reflection behind him. To be honest, he didn't know what to make of her. It'd only been a week and already she had his morning regimen down to the second, a feat that would take normal people months or even years to accomplish.

He could see her pause for a moment, as if she could feel his image watching her. "How did those mended pants hold up yesterday?" she asked casually.

His fingers put the final adjustments on the piece of white cloth around his neck. He also hadn't expected her to be so…domestic. Sewing was definitely not on his list of things he imagined she would have mastered. Then again, she was good at everything he'd seen so far. "They worked out well enough, though I haven't tested them in 3D Maneuver Gear yet."

Levi limped over to the bed so he could sit down to put on his boots. In an instant, she was over to clean the mirror.

He couldn't help but wonder, what exactly was she to him? They had gone beyond a commanding officer-soldier relationship by this point. She was more like a…what, maid? No, that was too demeaning of a position. Assistant? Closer, with all the extra tasks she performed, but their newly-formed bond seemed more familiar than that.

She had shown a clear interest in getting to know him better, and over the last week, she had succeeded. Now the girl acted like she'd known him all her life. Hence, "friend" didn't even cut it either. So what, should he start thinking of her like family now? "Daughter" didn't quite suit her, although the age difference would be about right. She behaved more like a…

…wife? He choked at the sudden thought and had to hide it in the form of a cough.

"Captain, are you all right?" Mikasa's eyes were on him in a second.

He dismissed her concern with a wave. "Must be dust in the room. You sure you cleaned this place yesterday?"

Scowling, she turned back to scrubbing the mirror harder.

…But he didn't think he was too far off. Not that he knew what marriage was like, but they worked together so well, it was as if they'd been made for each other. At the same time, he couldn't see her as a wife either, with her being so young compared to him. Then there was the need to factor in a thing called "affection," which she clearly did not display toward him.

His jacket suddenly appeared in front of his face. "Here," came Mikasa's voice, "you're going to be late at this rate."

He snatched the article of clothing from her grasp. Maybe they were in the old married couple stage.

As he brushed past her to access the mirror once more, the teenager paused. Before he could put his jacket on, she reached over and plucked a strand of black hair that was caught between the back of his neck and his cravat. Judging by the length, it had to be one of hers.

"Ackerman, do I need to require you to wear a hairnet when you do my laundry?" he droned.

"That won't be necessary, Sir. This one must have slipped," she responded, unfazed.

When she moved to turn back to her work, he caught a brief glimpse of their two reflections together in the mirror. He was stunned at the sight. They fit so well together even there. Granted, she had been standing behind him with her head over his shoulder, which made her appear shorter, but because the both of them looked so unlike their ages, they could have easily passed as a couple. He tried to shake the thought, but it kept haunting him for the short remainder of his routine.

Levi grabbed the bundle of documents waiting for him at the exit and began to make his way out. Once he passed the threshold and turned to close the door behind him, he noticed Mikasa staring oddly at him. "Something wrong, Ackerman?"

She shook her head. "No, but I was just waiting for your 'Oh and Ackerman' for the morning."

Levi stiffened. He had made quite a habit of that lately, hadn't he? But with certain plans weighing heavily on his mind, he wasn't in the mood for tormenting her at the present. "Today is different." With that cryptic message, he shut the slab of wood. The dark-haired man couldn't help but give a sigh as he limped down the hallway. She knew him like a wife would, huh? This was only going to make it harder for him to do what he had to later.

* * *

Instead of gathering at the classroom, Levi's squad met fully geared at the edge of the forest that harbored the training grounds. Only, this side wasn't where they would normally enter for 3DMG practice. The Captain said he would walk them to their testing site, which was also unusual, since they would normally enter by swinging through the trees.

In addition to the eight of them, Squad Leader Hanji would also be partaking in this exercise. They'd only been told she would be timing them, and that was it. Armin shifted from one booted foot to the other. Something about this didn't feel right.

"Where's Braus?" Captain Levi barked after scanning their little group, which currently was missing one person.

No sooner had he said that when she appeared in the distance, running like her life depended on it. Knowing the Captain, it probably did.

She stopped to catch her breath when she reached them and performed a less than perfect salute. The action caused a roll to fall from inside her jacket.

"Braus…" Levi's voice was low and deadly. His displeasure was clearly evident in his normally stony eyes.

Sasha gulped. "Sorry, Sir! That was for after the test, I swear!"

"When we're through, you are scrubbing all the bathrooms in the entire castle by yourself for the next month! Is that understood?" He boomed.

The girl cowered and hid herself behind Hanji.

"Oh come on, fussy pants," nagged the Squad Leader. "She was probably hungry from all the stress of this test. Cut her some slack!"

"Not to mention no one shared any food with her this morning," snickered Connie quietly to Jean.

The Captain visibly twitched. "Fine, one week then. I don't have time to argue. Let's go."

Sasha caught Hanji in a tight glomp. For the next minute, she recited a multitude of "thank you"s to the older woman.

As they walked for what seemed like forever, Armin took a moment to peruse everyone in the group. For someone who was still injured, Captain Levi had no problem walking ahead of them at a good pace. His limp wasn't as severe as it had been previously, so he must be close to fully healing.

Jean and Connie were trying to hide their nervousness by talking themselves up to each other. Krista walked not too far from him and was taking in the beautiful scenery quietly. Sasha was bouncing around Mikasa and Eren and gabbed about what she hoped today's lunch menu would include. While his best male friend tried to humor her by intermittently responding, his adoptive sister pressed forward and caught up to their leader.

"Are you sure your ankle is up for this, Captain?" Armin could hear her ask him. His eyes narrowed slightly. Since when had she started initiating cordial conversations with him?

The older man gruffly replied, "I don't expect to be doing anything difficult today. That'll be your job."

She simply nodded and slowed down to let Eren and Sasha catch up with her. That feeling of something being off still nagged at Armin, and it wasn't the fact that their two resident hotheads had interacted without someone getting mad. So, the blond teenager hung back to talk to the oddball of their group.

"Ne, Hanji, I hear you're only here to keep time for us?" Armin asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

A puzzled look appeared on her face. "I've got the stopwatch with me, yes, but protocol dictates I must be present in any activity involving an experimental titan."

"You mean Eren?" he attempted to clarify. "But he does training unsupervised all the time. So why are you with him now?"

She had just opened her mouth to speak when they reached a large clearing in the woods.

"We're here!" Levi called, interrupting their conversation.

Everyone halted at his announcement. Before them there was…nothing. It was just a simple, albeit spacious, clearing surrounded by the dense forest. They had only walked a few meters in before he had stopped them.

"Captain…what's going on?" Nervous, Eren was the first to speak. All eyes focused on their instructor, whose back was currently turned toward them.

"Eren," the older man said in a deadpan voice, "change into a titan."

"WHAT?!" chorused the cadets in shock.

"But-But, Sir!" the titan-shifter objected. "I haven't mastered that ability yet. I can't just—"

Levi cut him off with an over-the-shoulder glare. "Funny, all of Shitty Glasses' reports seem to indicate you should be able to, or are at least close to it."

It was the confused scientist who spoke up next. "He can create the individual parts, Levi. Head, torso, arms, legs. You told me those would be sufficient for this test. We aren't at the stage where he can generate a fully functional titan on command."

Completely ignoring her, Levi pressed, "How did it go again? You start with a self-inflicted wound?"

"Captain!" Mikasa snapped. "If he says he can't do it, he can't do it." Turning to her brother, she assuaged, "It's all right, Eren. He can't force you to do anything you don't want to."

The dark-haired boy was visibly shaking, his hands clenched into fists.

"Eren," Levi continued in his unwavering voice, "this is an order from your commanding officer. Transform."

His friend bowed his head, silence still upon him.

This was insane. Eren had strict orders not to change unless his life depended on it, not for the mere whim of an exercise. What was the Captain thinking? This could endanger everyone's lives if something went wrong. Commander Erwin couldn't have possibly approved of this…could he?

After a long pause, the boy at the center of everyone's attention whispered, "All right, I'll do it."

"Eh?!" the rest of the recruits in the squad gasped.

Connie was nervously wringing his hands. "Look man, you don't have to. I'm sure titan dummies could work…" But everyone knew it was too late for that. And they were all just as scared about going up against Eren in titan form.

The trembling teenager slowly made his way toward the middle of the clearing. There was a hush over everyone during this, all eyes carefully watching him. Once he had gone a sufficient distance, he faced them and raised his hand to his mouth.

Everyone tightly grasped the operating devices to their 3DMG, already searching for trees to shoot into at a moment's notice.

The only warning he gave them was a simple nod, before biting into his hand.

A collective breath was held, waiting for the impending lightning strike.

…And then nothing.

His eyes wide in distress, he raised the other hand and bit into it. Again, nothing.

A few sighs of relief were heard among the squad members.

"Don't forget, Levi," Hanji spoke up. "He needs to have a clear goal in his mind to transform."

"Fulfilling an order isn't clear enough?" Levi retorted in a cold monotone.

Tears starting to stream from his eyes, the brunette boy continued to draw more blood from his hands, but to no avail.

"Stop this, Captain, it's useless." Mikasa stomped forward, a burning rage in her eyes. "Eren did his best, even though he told you he couldn't. Now tell him to come back." By now she was at the Captain's side, glaring daggers at him.

"Hmph." Their commanding officer slowly turned his head to match her gaze. For a second, there was a deadly gleam in them that took Mikasa aback. Then in a low voice, he murmured, "Maybe he just hasn't found the right motivation yet, Ackerman."

Before anyone could blink, the Captain grabbed Mikasa around the shoulders with one arm, pinning her own arms to her sides and pressing her back against his chest. More cries of surprise erupted from their little group. Less than a second later, he drew one of his blades with his free hand and pressed it tight across her throat.

Onyx eyes wide, Mikasa gasped, "What the hell are you doing?!" However, that action alone cause the weapon to start to break skin. Both her hands grasped at his restraining arm, but his grip was iron-tight and wouldn't budge.

"Hey, Eren," Levi called out casually.

Time seemed to stand still as everyone stared at him in shock.

"Change into a titan, or I kill her."


	7. Chapter 7

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

A/N: Uh, wow, I wasn't expecting _that_ much of a response to my cliffhanger. You guys doubled the amount of reviews for my story after that one chapter. Thanks, I guess. Just means more pressure for me to make this chapter good. ^_^;;;

Chapter 7

Shocked and confused exclamations surrounded them. No one could believe the Captain was doing this, least of all the girl in his arms. It felt so cheap and unfair, but no one dared make a move against him, afraid that Mikasa might be harmed.

"Hey, Eren," Levi called out casually. She could feel his warm breath against her ear. "Change into a titan, or I kill her." As if for emphasis, he pulled the blade up higher toward her chin.

Across from them, the boy had fallen to his knees at the sight. His shimmering emerald eyes stared helplessly at her. "No… Mikasa…" Once again, his teeth were biting down on his hands desperately.

Soon a sob choked in Eren's throat as he found himself failing again. Blood was all over him, from his palms, to his face, to down the front of his shirt.

"Captain, I don't think he can transform, even if he wanted to," came Armin's shaky voice from behind them.

Her captor cocked his head to the side. "How do you figure, Arlert?" he queried without looking back.

"Eren knows deep down that you won't kill her," he explained. "He's always believed you're not that kind of man. So the titan within him must not see you as enough of a threat to come out."

She could hear the strain in Armin's effort to sound confident in his answer. It was a plausible theory, she admitted, but their fearless leader wasn't going to let that deter him.

In fact, the Captain seemed to take it as a challenge. "Then I'll make that monster realize there are fates far worse than death."

He removed the blade from her throat but still kept his grip on her. As he put the weapon away, he leaned his head forward over her shoulder. "Last chance, Jaeger!" he called out to the boy.

The dark-haired teenager was only able to look up at him wordlessly. He couldn't have known what to do; his titan power was beyond his control.

"Suit yourself," the Captain muttered darkly. Without warning, he turned her deftly with his left arm, which now ran across her back, such that she was angled almost perpendicular to his body. A strong hand clamped over her distal arm to restrain it, and his inside shoulder secured the proximal. Suddenly, his lips were pressed upon hers. Mikasa's eyes widened into saucers as he kissed her roughly, his callused lips scratching at her own.

"Captain, what the hell?!" Jean screamed from afar. Grunting noises followed from her admirer's direction as if someone, or multiple someones, was holding him back.

Meanwhile, a dozen different emotions assaulted Mikasa's psyche, but one thought rang loud amongst them: 'This is wrong!' She could feel her body going numb, her gut clenching. No matter what feelings had arisen as of late, this wasn't what she wanted or how she wanted him. She refused to reciprocate his forceful kiss, yet she couldn't bring herself to struggle either.

The deplorable act may have been brief, but to Mikasa, it felt painstakingly long. As he pulled away, she could feel hot liquid start to sting the edges of her eyes, threatening to spill out in her rage and confusion. Throughout this, his stony visage loomed heartlessly before her. The next thing she knew, she spat in his face. He scowled and wiped at it with his free hand.

Jerking her head away, she took this opportunity to look for her brother.

Eren had somehow gotten to his feet and taken a few steps toward them. An angry aura surrounded him, threatening to burst out and engulf them in the flames of his utter fury.

But he was still human, which meant the Captain wasn't done with her yet. With the same free hand, he traced a solitary finger from her cheek down along her throat, leaving behind a burning trail. Mikasa couldn't help the shiver that resulted from his unwelcome touch. The intruding digit eventually came across her scarf, which impeded its progress. "She certainly is a pretty one, isn't she, Eren?" his smooth voice grated on her like nails on a chalkboard.

The maroon piece of cloth was suddenly ripped from her neck, tossed carelessly aside. Before she could yell in protest, his head had lowered to plant a biting kiss on her exposed neck. She gasped at the new sensation. If it were any situation but this, she may have enjoyed it, but right now, it felt like a snake had injected its poison in that spot. In the meantime, his finger had crept up on her again, retracing its path, but this time, going down further until it reached her chest just above the top button of her shirt.

He once more raised his head to torment her brother. "Tell me, is she as pretty underneath her clothes?"

Panic filled Mikasa's head. No, he wouldn't… She tried to move her arms and legs, to fight her way out of this, but she found that all her limbs had turned to lead. Mikasa hadn't felt this helpless since her parents had been murdered in front of her. Only now it was her inner turmoil that paralyzed her.

She shut her eyes tightly. Where was everyone else? What were they doing this whole time? They couldn't just be sitting back and watching, could they?

Her brother's barely contained voice shortly reached her ears like a light at the end of a nebulous tunnel. "Take your filthy hands off her!"

Onyx eyes fluttered open to see him standing only five meters away, his crimson fists up in a battle stance. His teeth were gritted, and his tear-streaked eyes held a murderous glare. She could only imagine what was going on in his head. The Captain, the one person he respected and admired the most, had in the span of minutes turned into the scum he'd fought so hard to protect her from.

"Or else what, brat?" the older man bit back. His gaze turned back to her, and he now pulled at her white shirt with that damn finger. "Even if you could save her now, what about tomorrow? Maybe I'll find out the answer to my question when she comes to my bedroom…alone."

It was then that Mikasa could see something snap within her brother.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he cried. A flash of lightning struck where he stood, knocking the both of them back.

Hot steam blew over them like a scalding wind. A hulking figure emerged before them, twin green lights gleaming from its head.

Her mind still swimming, Mikasa had barely gotten to her feet when she felt herself being thrown into someone else.

"Hanji, start the clock," the Captain ordered in his deadpan voice. "And get her ready to do her part."

She could feel the woman who had caught her nod shakily. Before anything more could be said, an arm was around her waist, and she was suddenly flying to the nearest tree.

Mikasa watched as her unfazed commanding officer turned to the remaining cadets and barked, "Get to high ground, all of you!" How could that bastard be so damned collected after what he pulled?

Eren's titan form let out a fearsome roar.

Everyone below was still gawking at each other, unsure of whether or not to follow the orders of a man who'd just done something horrible to a fellow comrade.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation to get crushed?" the Captain shouted. His patience with his stunned squad was wearing thin, and he couldn't afford to hold out for them any longer. Acutely aware of his dangerous surroundings, he quickly launched himself at a nearby tree. A split second later, Eren's fist connected with the ground he'd stood on moments prior.

Armin and Krista had made it to safety in time, but Jean, Sasha and Connie barely managed to scramble out of harm's way at the last moment.

"Mikasa…" The glasses-wearing woman gave her a gentle shake. The girl finally tore her eyes away from the chaotic scene.

The tree branch she'd brought them to was broad and sturdy. There was enough room for the teenager to freely turn around and fling her arms around her companion. "Oh, Hanji…" The tears now poured from Mikasa like a floodgate opening as she buried her face in the other's shoulder.

A strong, comforting arm gently rubbed her back. "It's okay. Take a moment to get yourself together." She couldn't believe how soothing Hanji managed to sound. It was a stark contrast to the trees crashing behind her, the confused cries of her friends echoing around them. "It's going to be all right."

"No," Mikasa gasped, choking back sobs, "no, it's not!" Like hell anything could be "all right" after what _he_ did. Her heart was in millions of pieces, and words like that only served to smash them into even more shards. After all they'd been through together, all they shared this past week…did none of that matter in his sadistic little mind? In the end, was she merely a pawn for him to play with? Was that all she really was to him, someone to be used and discarded at a moment's notice?

The older woman shushed her. "Yes, it will be. We're going to get through this."

"You don't understand…" Mikasa sniffled and slowly pulled back, her voice wavering. Should she tell her? It was becoming increasingly more painful for her to hold her emotions in. After what just happened, she felt like she was going to burst if she couldn't tell someone, anyone. To hell with this secret. He wasn't worth it anymore. "You remember the guy I told you about…?"

Hanji's face was only puzzled for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh yeah, the one you like?" Her countenance instantly brightened. "That's a good idea. Just think about him."

Mikasa winced at the thought of crushing that hopeful look. "It's him," she croaked, just barely above a whisper. "The guy I liked…is Captain Levi."

* * *

Armin couldn't tell who was the most outraged in the group, but he was sure he was only second to Eren. The Captain, the one everyone looked up to, lost all his respect with that single act.

Hopping from tree to tree, the blue-eyed teenager made sure the rest of their squad had gotten out safely. Unfortunately, the object of his loathing was moving erratically, and his titan friend was so bent on destroying him, he wasn't concerned about collateral damage. That meant Armin had to constantly be on the go in order not to accidentally get in the way of Eren's rampage.

Luckily there was one area that the older man was purposely avoiding, and so he made his way steadily there.

The boy alighted on the broad branch in time for Hanji to moan an "Oh dear…"

"Mikasa, are you all right?" Armin just now realized he was out of breath already. He must've pushed himself harder than he thought to get here.

A panicked look crossing her face, the scientist of the group waved an arm nervously. "Armin, hey, fancy seeing you here…" She then motioned for him to stay where he was. "Do-Don't worry… She'll be fine. She just needs a moment, that's all."

The trembling girl suddenly sank to her knees, and Hanji dropped down beside her. Armin involuntarily took a step forward. "Mikasa!"

The auburn-haired woman held her protectively. "I'll take care of her. You guys subdue Eren," the Squad Leader ordered.

"But…" If the blond didn't have other things to be more concerned about, he would press further about Hanji's strange behavior.

"No but's!" she insisted, her face turning serious. "The sooner you stop him, the sooner this nightmare can end for her."

Armin nodded. Much as he wanted to be there for his friend, he knew the Squad Leader was right. "I'll let Jean know he's up for cutting Eren out. Krista should be able to—"

"I can do it." The teenage girl's interruption caused him to give a start. "I'll get Eren out."

"Mikasa," Armin pleaded. "You're in no condition for that. Let us handle it."

"Five minutes, that's all I ask." The resolute tone of her request settled it.

Every fiber in his being screamed against letting her fight in this state, but he knew there was no arguing with her. "Five minutes it is."

With one final concerned look at her, Armin leapt off and shot toward a certain brown-haired comrade.

* * *

This was crazier than being put in the middle of a pack of Aberrants. Jean launched himself into another tree as the one he'd been standing in came crashing down when Eren had landed a stray fist into the one right next to it, causing a domino effect. At least the Captain was moving in one general direction now instead of haphazardly jumping around.

That bastard…

How dare he do that to Mikasa! Normally he was scared of him, sure, but in that moment when she was being kissed against her will, he had lost it. If Connie and Armin hadn't held him back, well, he didn't know what would have happened. Either he would have become the dashing knight he'd always dreamed of being to her, or he would have gotten his face pounded in.

For the present moment, though, all he could think about was making sure he and his friends stayed alive. All the lessons they had learned over the past week flew out his ear. He didn't know where to begin directing everyone in a strike against the rampaging titan before him.

"Jean!" A quickly-approaching voice came from behind him. He turned in time to see a fair-haired teenager land on a branch around the corner of the tree he currently stood on.

"Armin!" he greeted. Then more urgently, "Mikasa, is she…?"

"She'll be fine," his friend reassured. "Hanji's taking care of her as we speak. More importantly…" He pointed to the giant creature he had previously been staring at. "I think we can get him with formation H if the Captain would just hold still."

Jean gawked at him. Not only because he was having a hard time remembering that particular formation but because the blond had jumped straight into planning, not even saying a word about their traitorous leader.

"You remember, the one with all of us in standard formation, but—"

The brown-haired young man cut him off with a hand. It was starting to come back to him. "I got it, but how do you propose we deal with the Captain?" By the look in Armin's eyes, he'd caught Jean's implication.

"Let me handle him for now. Commander Erwin can take care of him later." As they exchanged resolute looks, the teenager continued, "You round up Connie and Sasha and get them in position. I'll fill Krista in. Let's just say she'll be your signal."

Cryptic. Jean didn't like that kind of answer but he supposed he'd have to work with it. If he ever wanted to be a good leader one day, that meant trusting others and playing according to the cards he was dealt. Still, there was one thing Armin hadn't addressed yet. "Who's cutting Eren out?"

"Mikasa," was the instant reply.

"Eh?!" he exclaimed. "There's no way I'm letting her—"

"She's already made up her mind," Armin interrupted. "I wasn't keen on the idea either, but we need to have faith in her."

Jean let out a long sigh. As to be expected of the woman he had a crush on. "All right, all right, let's just get this over with." After one final nod, his friend zipped off ahead of him.

Things just got crazier and crazier…

* * *

Mikasa barely registered anything that went on around her after she made that confession. The mere utterance of his name on her own lips was enough to sink her back into her own thoughts.

'I liked him, I really did…' Memories of the past week flashed by in her mind. The way he examined her with such concern that second morning, him tossing her the key to his room in his office, the startled look on his face as he stood in the doorway earlier that day… 'But now, after what he did to me, what he did to Eren…'

A sudden weakness overcame her legs, and she fell to her knees.

"Mikasa!" she heard Armin shout. When had he shown up?

She slowly tried to bring herself back to reality, to remember the danger outside Hanji's protective embrace. That's right, just like all those years ago, she had to save Eren. She needed to get a grip on herself and fight.

But no jolt of internal lightning came. Her feelings were too overpowering. She couldn't even get her body to move.

"I'll let Jean know he's up for cutting Eren out," she heard Armin rattle off.

'No!' She was the one who'd made the promise to protect him.

"Krista should be able to—"

"I can do it," she declared without knowing how she found the ability to speak. "I'll get Eren out."

Mikasa shot down Armin's subsequent protest with an arbitrary request, one she wasn't sure she could fulfill at this point. But he had conceded, his full trust in her. Now she needed to work on pulling herself together to make good on that deal.

After her blond friend left, Hanji's brown eyes turned back to her, giving her an apologetic look through a pair of boxy glasses. "Mikasa, I'm so sorry about all this."

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "No need for that. You couldn't have known this would happen." She gave a long sigh and after a moment, found the strength to pull away from her newfound counselor. Mikasa then sat down fully on the tree branch, dangling her legs off the edge. "I wasn't meant to be with him anyway."

A pair of thin hands wrapped around one of her own. "I still say it's too early to make that call."

Her onyx eyes shot her a skeptical look. "No offense, Hanji, but even if I had a chance in hell with him, I think the Captain's proven he really is the bastard he appears to be."

The woman's face remained resolute. "I'm sure he has his reasons. Remember Eren's trial?"

'How could I forget?' Mikasa thought bitterly.

Hanji took this opportunity to sit beside her. "I'm sure you felt just as appalled and angry then, but in the end it saved him."

The dark-haired teenager turned her head away. "I don't see how any of this could be justified," she spat. "He violated me and for what? A stupid training exercise? And we had just started getting along…" She couldn't help the tears that began to stream down her face once more. "How could he do this to me?" Her voice was now barely above a strained whisper. "He used me without giving a damn about my feelings!"

Hanji's reassuring hand now moved to the girl's shoulder. "Mikasa, I know Levi can be extreme in his methods, but he only pushes emotionally as far as he thinks a person can go. I doubt he would have gone that far with you if he had known how you felt about him. I mean, if I couldn't figure out that you liked him from what you'd already told me, do you think he would have an inkling with even less information?"

"_Makes me wonder what's going on in that head of yours." _

The girl suddenly stiffened as his voice resounded within her mind. "Okay, so what if he didn't know. That still doesn't excuse his behavior," she snarled. What if it had been some other girl who Eren cared about? Would he have done the same thing? For some reason, the thought of him kissing someone else didn't sit well with her either.

Dammit, this was no time for jealousy. The man practically forced himself on her in front of everyone.

"I'm not asking you to forgive him," the scientist continued. "But maybe this will make it easier to understand where he's coming from and for now, use it to move forward. A lot of people are relying on you right now."

"_Whatever it is, I'd suggest you get your shit together before tomorrow's test. I trust you won't let me down."_

"_I don't expect to be doing anything difficult today. That'll be your job."_

Captain Levi's words from earlier rang clear as if on cue. Damn that bastard and his double meanings. Wiping away the last of the drying tears on her face, she stood up determinedly. Hanji was right; this was no time for her to be an emotional mess. Everyone was counting on her to be strong, even _him_.

Focusing her thoughts on her friends and on Eren, she shoved her feelings aside and readied her blades.

Giving one last look to her supportive comrade, she said, "Thanks for the talk, Hanji. I can take it from here." She barely saw the woman's proud wave as she shot off with her 3D Maneuver Gear.

* * *

Armin had just finished giving Krista her instructions. With a nod, the fair-haired girl shot off into the trees at an angle from the direction he was headed.

There was no more time to waste. Pushing out more gas than he was accustomed to, he rocketed ahead over a path of toppled trees.

Once he was within view of the Captain, he waved to catch his attention. The older man's eyes flickered briefly to him, indicating that he was watching, even if he was preoccupied with staying alive.

Armin gave a thumbs up. Time to test what he'd learned about Survey Corps sign language. With a quick series of motions with his hands, he indicated the Captain should hold position for 30 seconds at the 5th tree he landed on next.

The dark-haired man responded with a simple gesture of his own. "_Are you insane?" _Armin translated.

"_Trust me," _the blond signaled back.

One of Eren's swings came dangerously close to the Captain's trailing legs. Once he landed on a tree branch, however, he waved an agreement to the plan before leaping away from another attack.

Luckily, Jean, Sasha, and Connie had caught up by this time and were getting into position. Armin followed suit.

'One. Two,' he counted to himself as tree after tree fell to Eren's rage. Wait, where was Krista? He glanced around nervously. She was nowhere to be found.

'Three. Four. Shit!' In a panic, Armin quickly calculated how long it would take for himself to make up for the loss.

Five.

The Captain stopped like he was told, unsheathing his blades.

It would be too late, Armin concluded, his blue eyes going wide.

Eren's open titan hand shot toward his prey. There would be no chance for mercy in his berserker state. Armin grimaced, bracing himself for the inevitable outcome.

Suddenly, a streak of black, red and brown flew in front of the Captain. The sound of metal slicing through flesh resounded around them.

With a howl, Eren drew his hand back, most of its digits missing. The enraged titan tried again with his other hand, but this time, a flash of gold and brown shot past in the opposite direction, also taking some fingers with it.

Armin scanned the canopy around the man who hadn't batted an eye throughout all this. Perched within a tree on one side of the Captain was Mikasa, the retrieved scarf around her neck fluttering in the wind. On the other side, Krista gently touched down on a low-hanging branch. Steaming blood was evaporating from the jackets of both girls.

"Now!" Jean cried.

Snapping himself out of his surprise and focusing on the matter at hand, Armin sprang into action. Swinging up to one of Eren's arms, he ran across the appendage and made two textbook cuts. On the opposite arm, Jean was only a heartbeat ahead of him with the same movements. Both managed to shoot away in time for the titan's arms to go limp at his side.

Down below, Connie and Sasha shot over to his legs to make their cuts into his tendons. While Sasha was successful with hers, Connie's second slice didn't penetrate deep enough, forcing Eren to only drop down to one knee.

"Shit!" the boy with the buzz-cut shouted on his retreating arc. The brown-haired titan was already attempting to stand back up.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Krista planted a hook on a nearby tree and swung low, easily making the final cut to incapacitate Eren. "All yours, Mikasa!"

She had barely finished that sentence when the half-Asian girl released the line at the apex of her swing, spinning gracefully and shooting another into the back right of the titan's neck. Her feet were firmly planted into the top of his back in no time. Two precise slashes with her blades later, she popped open a layer of flesh, revealing her wide-eyed brother.

Sheathing her weapons at her side, she yanked him out by the waist. "Eren! Are you all right? Can you hear me?" He appeared conscious, but both emerald orbs stared blankly at her. When he didn't respond, she tugged at him again, attempting to pull him out completely, but all of his arms and legs were still embedded in knots of red flesh.

Armin took this opportunity to join her on the steaming titan back. "Hold him still, I'll cut him out!" He drew both his blades, and once he got a confirmatory nod from Mikasa that she was ready, he hacked away at his friend's bonds. Before long, he was free, and his adoptive sister wasted no time in carrying him away to safety.

The blond teenager saw that the rest of his friends were congregating on the ground below, now that they were in the clear. Launching himself away from the disintegrating giant corpse, he made a shaky landing beside them.

Jean was the first to speak, even though he was still gawking at the abandoned titan shell. "We did it…" His disbelieving voice was almost a whisper, as if the last few minutes were but a dream.

"Guess you were right when you said the Captain would have something scary for us," Sasha lamented, planting herself on the grass beneath them. "Let's not do that again any time soon please."

Speaking of the Captain… Armin immediately looked up to where he had requested the man to hold his position, but he was gone already. After a quick search, however, he found him arguing with the newly arrived Squad Leader on the lowest branch of a nearby tree. The boy didn't think he'd ever seen Hanji so angry with anyone before.

Curious, he walked over in their direction. As he got closer, he noticed a long pink mark on one of the Captain's cheeks, almost in the shape of a hand. Even though they had been in a heated conversation earlier, Armin seemed to have arrived in time for the calmer tail end of their discussion.

"Tch. They're going to have to do a lot better than 10 minutes 50 seconds," the Captain scowled.

"That's the total time starting from the transformation, Levi," Hanji clarified, unfazed. "I reset the clock when you stopped acting like your boots were on fire and held still. After that part was 2 minutes and 35 seconds."

"Still not good enough. Erwin's not going to be happy."

The Squad Leader snapped at him, "That's not the only thing he's going to be unhappy about."

Captain Levi opened his mouth to make a retort when he finally noticed Armin. Instead, he grumbled, "Like I said, we'll discuss that later." Using the 3DMG to soften his landing, he dropped off the tree branch and onto the ground.

Only briefly acknowledging the boy, he waved for him to follow. Armin complied but still shot wary glances at the man's back. He could hear Hanji land and trail not too far behind them.

Back at his gathering of friends, Mikasa had just joined them with a now unconscious Eren. 'Transforming must have taken a lot out of him,' Armin pondered to himself.

He wasn't able to muse for much longer as the Captain began to address them. "Congratulations, brats, you all passed, but just barely." The older man was clearly ignoring the pointed glares in his direction. "On our next mission, however, you will be expected to be much quicker with the extraction. Taking 10 minutes and 50 seconds is only going to get us and Jaeger killed."

Armin was really tempted to interrupt with their real time, but judging by their commanding officer's attitude earlier, it would be futile to bring it up.

"Hanji, get Jaeger checked out in the infirmary," the Captain continued with his orders. "The rest of you, hit the showers. This doesn't excuse you from your training for the rest of the day."

Before anything more could be said from anybody, Levi shot off with the 3DMG back toward headquarters. All eyes now turned to the next senior officer in their group.

The Squad Leader pushed up her glasses and sighed as Mikasa reluctantly transferred Eren to her care. "I know, I know what you're all thinking. Rest assured that the Commander and I will have a serious talking to Levi." It took her a moment to adjust the sleeping boy in her arms. "For now, though, I'd suggest you try to carry on like normal."

Armin wondered if that was as hard to swallow for everyone else. After what they'd witnessed and been put through, there was no such thing as "normal" for the rest of their day.

Nobody raised any objections, though, as Hanji likewise launched herself in the direction of the castle with her precious cargo. Mikasa was not far behind.

It wasn't until they were gone when one of his fellow squadmates finally piped up.

"Damn that bastard!" Jean seethed, kicking at a lone rock. "I'm sure he's broken some kind of law or something with that stunt. What I wouldn't give to report him and see him flogged for it."

Connie groaned, "Do you think anyone would dare do anything against 'Humanity's Strongest' though? It'd probably get caught up in so much red tape, it'd be better not to have said anything in the first place."

"But there's gotta be something we can do!" The taller young man crossed his arms. "Mikasa's honor is at stake here!"

"Maybe Armin can think of something?" Krista suggested.

Four pairs of eyes were now on him. His face involuntarily contorted into a nervous grimace. "Well, uh, there is a section of the Survey Corps code that addresses sexual harassment…" he thought out loud. By the hopeful gleam in everyone's eyes, he knew what was coming next. "I guess I could bring it up with Commander Erwin some time… soon…"

"Sounds great, Armin!" Sasha cheered. "That way the rest of us can head over for lunch."

The blond boy's face fell. Him and his big mouth…


	8. Chapter 8

Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

A/N: I feel like I turned into a DBZ writer; it's taking me a million chapters to get through one day of the story. Also, it took me forever to feel satisfied with this chapter.

Chapter 8

Levi had barely touched the lunch he had brought to his office. A mountain of unfinished paperwork threatened to topple over in a corner on his desk, but he couldn't find the motivation to tackle any of it. Instead, he stared out the open window. As he waited for the inevitable summons, he couldn't help thinking back to the events of earlier that day.

_Steam from Eren's titan corpse billowed past him as he shot out of his previous perch. It had taken a few minutes for his racing heart to finally return to a normal rhythm. He then watched those brats' little reunion from afar in a tree. Their relief and exhaustion was evident even at this distance. Levi wasn't about to join them until he found out how bad of a time they had made so he could properly scold them._

_It wasn't long before he felt his branch bounce with the arrival of someone he was expecting._

"_Hey shithead, just the person I was looking for." As he turned around to face the Squad Leader, he was met with a slap across his face. It was odd that he hadn't sensed that coming and dodged it. His mind must have been too preoccupied with what to say to those brats. "What the hell was that?" he snarled at her._

"_I should ask you the same thing!" Hanji exploded. He didn't know what took him by surprise more: the slap or her enraged face. In all the time he'd been in the Survey Corps, he'd never seen this woman so angry. "The hell were you thinking doing that to Mikasa?"_

_He gingerly rubbed at the stinging spot on his cheek. "If it's any comfort, I didn't intend to go that far. You have your favorite lab rat to thank for that."_

"_If you'd have listened in the first place when I told you his limitations—"_

"_It doesn't matter now, does it?" he snapped, cutting her off. "He turned into a titan, and she recovered enough to do her part. You of all people should be excited to have seen his transformation up close."_

"_I'd never stoop to hurting someone like that for my research," she seethed._

_He waved a hand dismissively at her. "We can discuss our ethical differences later. Just give me their damn time."_

Despite the front he had put up, he could understand why Hanji had been so mad at him. Violating Ackerman was a last resort, a backup plan in case threatening her life wasn't enough to provoke Eren into transforming. He was so certain with their strong bond that merely seeing her in danger would have pushed him over the edge.

It definitely was not his intention to play the card that held the boy's worst nightmare, but Arlert's words only served to call his bluff. Obviously Levi had gambled big and lost, only to make an all-or-nothing wager that he barely scraped by with. It was a good thing he'd never become a gambler.

But that wasn't the worst of what was haunting him from earlier. When he had pressed against her soft lips, he'd felt a thrill shoot up his spine. With an apprehension that twisted the inside of his stomach, he realized he had _enjoyed_ kissing her—_her_, his teenage subordinate. It was enough to make him feel so dirty he had scrubbed his skin in the shower until the outermost layer started to peel. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to cleanse the lingering desire.

It had taken all his willpower to break away from that electrifying kiss and still keep up appearances. Things nearly fell apart again when he exposed her porcelain neck, only marred by the red line his blade had made moments prior. How he longed to make her gasp again like when he'd bitten into her…

A timid knock on the door luckily saved his train of thought before it became more sinful.

"Ca-Captain Levi, Sir!" called a lowly soldier he didn't recognize. "Commander Er-Erwin requests your pre-presence."

The dark-haired man stood up, almost too eagerly. It wasn't that he was looking forward to this meeting. On the contrary, he was dreading the reaming he was going to get from his friend and superior officer. But if it would take his mind away from the dangerous path it had started on, then by all means, he was more than willing to walk into the lion's den.

* * *

Commander Erwin was in the middle of awkwardly scribbling on a piece of paper when the brown-haired man in front of Levi knocked, entered and announced his presence. The seated man grunted a brief dismissal at the soldier whose rank the Captain didn't care to pay attention to.

Even though it had already been two weeks since their return from the last titan battle, it felt strange to see Erwin missing his right arm. Levi had met with him plenty of times since then, but it wasn't enough to take away years of mental images.

As the blond man set aside his work, he uncharacteristically knocked over an inkwell. A slight hesitation caused it to spill some of its contents before he righted it with his remaining hand. He clearly still favored the missing appendage.

"Need a hand, Erwin?" Levi asked wryly.

"Does that joke ever get old with you?" the Commander gruffly replied, not amused in the slightest. He reached for a rag in a nearby drawer to clean up the mess.

Levi shrugged. "Maybe once you lose a leg, I'll make cracks about how expensive stuff is instead." He strode over and helped his friend by straightening up the messy piles on his desk. Only he and Hanji could get away with such obvious signs of pity for the man.

Once everything was in order, the mood turned solemn. "I'm sure you know why you're here, Levi." The commander placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin on the back of his single hand. Levi felt it wise to pull up a chair across from him; this could take awhile.

"Just tell me what aspects of my test today you didn't like, so I can have my wrist slapped and go about my business," he responded frankly.

Erwin averted his gaze and sighed. "It's much more serious than that." He then dug out a specific set of papers from within a side drawer and slapped them on the desktop. "Your proposal for the test made no such mention of certain…actions…you were prepared to take to entice the Jaeger boy into titan-shifting. I already had reservations about the prospect of holding Miss Ackerman hostage, but from a report I received recently, you went beyond that." He fixed a pair of aquamarine eyes on his comrade. "Care to explain your actions before I render a verdict?"

His expression not changing in the slightest, Levi recited a statement he'd already planned shortly after returning to his office. "I took measures necessary to ensure I could accurately assess my squadron's capabilities for the upcoming mission. You yourself emphasized the importance of Eren Jaeger's prompt extraction, and it was my duty to give you a realistic estimate of the timeframe we could expect to see. I had not expected to encounter the resistance I was met with today, and as such, I had not anticipated resorting to methods that were omitted from my previous report."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, during which Erwin barely blinked. Finally, he uttered, "I see writing formal documents day in and day out has taken its toll on you. Allow me to rephrase my question." The blond took this opportunity to rise from his chair and suddenly slam a fist on the desk. "What the hell compelled you to sexually assault Mikasa Ackerman?!"

Levi was startled at the rage his friend visibly displayed. "Erwin, I had no choice," he instinctively defended.

"They are in _training_, Levi. There's always a choice!" he growled and angrily paced the room. "Why didn't you just back down?"

That was a good question. He himself didn't know the answer to that, only the one that he came up with for a situation like this. "I can't afford to look weak in front of my squad. Canceling the test like that would—"

"—Have at least maintained their trust in you," Erwin insistently finished for him, only stopping to shoot him a fierce glare. "Do you understand the gravity of your actions, especially from their point of view? They're still a bunch of goddamn teenagers. Yes, they've been forced to grow up too fast in this world, but emotionally, they're nonetheless unstable and easily impressionable. Can you even fathom what Mikasa must be going through?"

Levi opened his mouth to speak, but surprisingly no words came to his aid. It was probably better to let his commanding officer vent than to argue with him in this state anyhow.

So, Erwin continued with his tirade. "Needless to say, you owe her an apology, in addition to setting things right with the rest of your squad. It's bad enough that I have to push our mission even sooner. I can't have your team falling apart right before that."

"Wait, the timetable's been moved again?"

Erwin slowly nodded. "We leave for Karanese in two weeks. After a week of preparations there, we will be departing for the next expedition. I trust you will be in full health by then."

Levi unconsciously rubbed at his left leg. Things were moving much too quickly, especially for a mission of the scale Erwin had talked about. "Why so soon?"

"Our meteorologists expect an early winter this year," he more calmly explained. "And a harsher one. You know we can't execute what we need to in those conditions. After the blow the Survey Corps has been dealt with recent failures, we can't postpone the mission until spring either. That would give the politicians in the Capital enough time to possibly disband us, or at least indefinitely put any future expeditions on hold."

This new information was so overwhelming, Levi was glad he was sitting down. He would have two weeks to turn his ragtag bunch of brats into a superior titan-killing squad, all while he was still handicapped. The Captain had planned on training them himself once he'd fully recovered, but this recent development rendered that impossible.

"So you can see why I'm frustrated at your little stunt, Levi." Erwin now moved back over to his desk. From underneath a pile of papers, he withdrew a sealed envelope and held it out to him. "I take it you will need this to excuse your cadets from their classes once more so you can teach them strategies specific to your team. It's dated for two days from now. I think that will be enough time for you to win their confidence back."

Levi mutely snatched the yellow envelope from the Commander's hand. Yeah, the same strategies that couldn't save his last squad from one damn titan-shifter. He clenched a fist at the memory. Their old tactics, while still good for regular titan-fighting, would need a complete overhaul.

The ebony-haired man stood up to leave. Erwin had made it very clear what he needed to do now.

Before he could make a move for the door, though, the blond stated, "We're not done yet, Levi." The dark-haired Captain remained where he was but didn't bother sitting back down. "As you may recall, there is a section in the Survey Corps Code of Conduct regarding sexual harassment of fellow soldiers. Normally your actions today would warrant a hearing. However, due to the circumstances, namely how vital you are to the next mission, that will have to be postponed until after we return. That is, if the person who reported you does not withdraw their allegations in the meantime."

Levi knew what he was getting at with that. Erwin would hate for him to have to stand trial as much as he would himself. The easier route would be to win over whichever brat cried to him about it. "Just tell me one thing," Levi inquired in a low voice, "was it Ackerman who filed the complaint?"

There was a moment of hesitation on the other man's part. "I'm not at leisure to disclose the person's identity. That being said, I can at least assure you it was not her."

"Arlert, wonderful," Levi grumbled to himself. He didn't know that someone other than the victim was allowed to make such a report.

"Don't think I'm letting you off without some sort of punishment, though," Erwin attempted to change the subject. He pulled a thick, dusty book off one of his shelves. The blond then ambled over to his friend and gently shoved it into his chest. On the spine read, "Survey Corps Code of Conduct." Clearing his throat, he continued, "I know how much you enjoy paperwork, so I expect a five page summary of the chapter on sexual harassment on my desk tomorrow morning."

Levi could have sworn he saw a transient curl of the other's lips. He sighed and merely tucked the monster of a book under one arm. Objecting to the task would be futile. Considering the deep shit he was in, he was already getting off practically scot-free. Without another word, he turned once more toward the door. This time, though, there were no more interruptions as he opened it and let himself out.

* * *

Rubbing a hand over his eyes then sliding it down his face, the dark-haired man didn't notice the woman standing in front of him at first. When he did, instead of giving a start like his body instinctively wanted to do, he snapped, "What are you doing here, Shitty Glasses?"

In one hand, she held several sheets of paper, and an uncharacteristic frown was plastered on her visage. She looked like she was ready to slap him again just for standing there. "Waiting for you to leave so I could give Erwin my report." The bite in her voice slightly unnerved Levi. Usually she was quick to go back to her chipper self, but it was almost as if they had never left that tree branch in the forest.

"And eavesdropping too, I bet," he scowled. He stepped aside and made a motion with his free hand. "He's all yours." Levi then turned to walk around her when she purposely moved in front of him.

"I think now would qualify as 'later' to continue our discussion."

The shorter man sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for this, but by the way she was glaring at him, she wouldn't take "no" for an answer. "Get on with it then, I have important work to do."

She wasted no time in getting to the heart of the matter. "What you did to Mikasa was the most despicable thing I've ever seen you do, Levi. And you know I've seen plenty of horrible things from you over the years."

'It's a good thing she never met me while I was in the Underground then,' Levi mused. Then aloud, he retorted, "What's done is done, and there's no changing it. She can hate me all she wants, or she can get over it. I don't give a damn."

"Yes, you do, because you're Levi," she insisted, sticking her head closer to his face, which made him take a step back. "You may act cold and uncaring on the outside, but deep down, you take what people think of you to heart." She took this opportunity to shove her pointer finger into his chest. "If you had the foggiest idea about how Mikasa felt about you, you'd be ashamed of what you did."

His stormy eyes narrowed at her. "I think the chemical fumes from your lab have finally gotten to your brain. Ackerman doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone who isn't Jaeger or Arlert. Besides, you saw how fast she recovered. The girl can deal with this; it was just a kiss."

"Just a kiss?!" Hanji screeched, nearly blowing out his eardrums. "For you it may have been 'just a kiss!' Have you forgotten how young Mikasa is? Not only is she constantly fighting for her life and protecting her friends, but she also has teenager issues to deal with. And you stealing her first kiss is not helping in the least."

Levi groaned. "Really, shithead? Please tell me you're not getting so worked up over something as frivolous as Ackerman's 'first kiss.' If it were really that damn important to her, then one, she's a moron, and two, she should have given it away to the Jaeger boy already. It's obvious as daylight that's where it would have gone," he spat.

Hanji seemed to have calmed down a bit, but she was still relentless. "Again, whereas you may see it as frivolous, some girls take it very seriously. I don't think Mikasa does, quite honestly, but that aside, how can you be so sure she would have given it to Eren? They are like family to each other after all."

He growled and crossed his arms as best he could with his newly acquired items. Really, he didn't know how someone so smart could be so idiotic at times. "You clearly need more than four eyes." Making a gesture with his hand as if to count on his fingers, he rattled off, "She blushes at the simple mention of his name, she defends him no matter how wrong he is, she cites him as the motivation behind everything she does…" With each reason, he found himself growing more and more angry. "They might as well go screw each other already."

Hanji raised an eyebrow. "And you would be okay with this?"

Levi didn't quite know where she was going with that question, but he responded anyway. "So long as they didn't turn into a pair of giggling shits, that's fine by me. It's actually irritating that he hasn't made a move on her yet."

The brunette woman tilted her head to the side and placed both hands on her hips. "Oh, why's that?"

"Isn't it obvious? Ackerman's quite the catch, despite her lapses in judgment when it comes to him. I don't know when's the last time I've seen a soldier her age, male or female, so good at everything she does. And the way she cleans… I haven't met anyone like that in years…" It was at this point that Levi realized he was getting dangerously off track. He made a coughing noise as if to clear his throat. "Jaeger just needs to grow a pair, get over whatever social stigma he's afraid of from being with her and ask her out."

There was a moment of silence between them, and he couldn't help but notice the scientist scrutinizing him carefully. "Maybe you should take the same advice…" she murmured.

Levi stiffened. "I have no idea what you're getting at, but if we're done with our conversation, I'll be taking my leave."

He made to step around her again when she added, "And to think, just last week, I was telling her how decent of a guy you are beneath that asshole exterior."

This made him pause in his tracks. "Why were you talking to her about me?"

Levi realized too late he should have kept walking. A playful gleam suddenly appeared in her eyes. "No reason. We were discussing something unrelated, and you just happened to come up, that's all."

"How did I 'happen to come up'?" he scowled.

She merely waved flippantly at him. "Like I said, it didn't concern you in the first place. It's nothing important anyway, so don't get your pants in a bunch, Mr. Humanity's Nosiest."

Levi snarled. He didn't have time to play games with her, so he shoved her aside and stormed down the hallway.

He'd only gone a few meters before Hanji's voice caught his attention for the last time. "Armin was wrong, you know, Levi," she stated more seriously.

He stopped mid-step and turned his head back slightly in her direction. "About?"

"Eren not being able to transform," she explained. "It wasn't because he didn't think you were a threat." Her framed eyes lowering, she finished, "It was because he cared too much about you."

Levi let the information sink in in silence.

"He hasn't woken up yet for me to confirm, but I suspect he didn't want to hurt you. And similar to when Annie revealed herself, despite what went on before his own eyes, he refused to believe you were the monster you were acting like. It was his own feelings that were holding him back."

With no response left to give, the dark-haired man continued on his way.

* * *

Mikasa brushed a hand over the sleeping boy's forehead to push aside some stray locks of chocolate brown hair. Hanji had left to go run errands not too long ago, leaving her alone with her adoptive brother.

The teenage girl sat back on the short infirmary stool and leaned against the wall. She was going to tell him everything once he woke up—about her feelings for the Captain, her attempts to get to know him better this past week…and that she wasn't going to pursue him any further. After the events from today, she wanted nothing to do with that heartless bastard, so there was no point hiding it from Eren any longer. It might make him glad that she was coming so clean with him.

Mikasa sighed. She should have known it would've been better for her to explore her feelings for Eren instead. He would never do something so callous in order to push an agenda like the Captain had earlier. Her brother put her safety foremost in his mind, and he was constantly concerned for her well-being. She would be a fool to have eyes for anyone other than him. At least she knew she wouldn't suffer anymore heartache like she would from a certain asshole…

A stirring from the boy on the nearby cot took Mikasa by surprise. He'd never woken up this quickly from a titan transformation before.

Hanji hadn't returned yet, so the girl wasn't quite sure what to do. "Eren, are you all right?" She grasped one of his hands between her two. He simply blinked at the ceiling a few times. "Eren, can you hear me?" she pressed more urgently.

With a groan he pulled his other arm up over his head. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

Mikasa opened her mouth wide in relief. She then threw herself over his chest, eliciting an "umph" from him. "No, no it isn't." Both arms were wrapped around him now, crushing him in a bear hug.

"Oi oi, easy there. I don't want to regenerate parts that I don't have to."

Mikasa smiled against him and sat back up on her stool.

Eren took this opportunity to slowly get into a sitting position on the flimsy bed while still clutching his forehead. "Now that I think about it, _I _should be the one asking if _you_ are all right."

The raven-haired girl looked down glumly. "I'll be fine." She shifted uncomfortably, trying not to think of the events from earlier. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I should have fought—"

His arms were suddenly around her in a tight hug, his head resting on her shoulder. "Don't you dare apologize for what happened." She could hear a crack in his voice and felt him trembling, as if containing a surge of emotions within him. "None of this was your fault. It was all _him_. I should be the one who's sorry, for not being able to save you sooner."

For a few minutes, they held each other silently. Each had always been a rock for the other, and in this moment, it was no different. The girl nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck. She let the sound of his slowly calming heartbeat soothe her. His grip eventually eased up as well, but he didn't let go.

It was Mikasa who finally broke their embrace. She met his shimmering emerald eyes with her own tender gaze and gently stroked a hand over his temple. "You shouldn't be sorry for a power you can't control yet. But it's all over now."

The worn-out titan-shifter looked away, something clearly on his mind. "Hey, Mikasa…about what he said…you still doing those chores and all…"

Her pink lips pursed into a thin line. "I don't think I can go back after what happened, no matter his orders." Both onyx eyes turned downward. "Even if I did go, I doubt he'd make good on that threat, though, since he only said those things to get you to transform."

His hands clenched into fists. "I still can't believe he would even think of doing such a thing to you."

Mikasa's soothing hands were once again on his. "He was prepared to say anything to get a reaction out of you, Eren. Don't let what he said get to you." She paused as she mulled over her next words. Even though she had resolved earlier to confess her feelings for the Captain, seeing her brother in this state made her have second thoughts. It might be best to save her disclosure for another day, when he wasn't so worked up.

Instead, another idea came to mind. "Ne, Eren." Once he looked up to give her his full attention, she continued, "If you're feeling better later, would you…like to do some combat training with me?"

The dark-haired boy's mouth opened in surprise. "Are-Are you sure? I don't think I'd be much help, since you can whip my ass any day."

A small smile appeared on her face. "It'd be better than training alone."

"Yeah, but at least you wouldn't be holding back for me. Besides, I thought you were preparing to work with…" Eren wasn't able to finish that thought, since it brought a certain someone back to mind.

"That's…still some weeks to come," Mikasa said bitterly.

It must have been obvious that she didn't want to think of that man as much as he didn't. So, in as calm a voice as he could muster, Eren asked, "I'll meet you outside your room after 3DMG practice then?"

The raven-haired girl nodded and joked, "If Hanji's done prodding you by then."

"I'm sure if I tell her I have a previous engagement, she can work around it," he followed with a grin. A loud grumbling suddenly came from his stomach. The boy frowned and instinctively put both hands over it. "Hey, Mikasa…if Hanji isn't coming back soon, do you mind grabbing me something to eat?"

She couldn't help the short laugh that escaped her lips. "Sure."

* * *

Levi couldn't stand being in his office anymore. Not after the chewing out he got from Erwin and Hanji.

He took a quick glance at his clock. Ackerman would be here in 40 minutes. That is, if she had the nerve to show up at all. Pushing away from his desk, he closed up the dusty tome that was the Survey Corps Code of Conduct. Maybe if she did come, she could clean up that filthy book.

Leaving his office unlocked for her, he made his way to his room to grab a spare undershirt and towel before heading over to the recreation room. A workout was just what he needed to get his mind off the events of today, especially off _her_.

He was still irritated at all the fuss over her. His two fellow officers must severely underestimate her fortitude. But he'd been around her long enough to know she'd be able to handle something like this. It might take some time, but she'd be back to fawning over Eren soon enough.

When he arrived at the modest-sized workout room, he found that it was surprisingly empty for this time of day. He removed his jacket and shirt and neatly placed them and the towel on a bench. Slipping on the undershirt, he made his way over to a spot on the large blue mat to warm up. The straps of his harness still hung loosely at his sides in case he wanted to do some light 3DMG practice later.

His ankle ached a bit from the stress he hadn't expected to put on it today, but according to the medic he'd seen earlier, it should still heal on time, provided he didn't subject it to more of the same treatment. After about ten minutes, he made his way over to the punching bag. He started off with some light jabs before jumping into his usual routine. Despite his efforts to keep his mind clear, Erwin's and Hanji's voices plagued him.

"_Can you even fathom what Mikasa must be going through?"_

"_If you had the foggiest idea about how Mikasa felt about you, you'd be ashamed of what you did." _

Levi shook his head. They should just stay out of his damned business on how he got results out of his squad.

Not to say that he wasn't at least partially wrong in what he did. Pushing Ackerman that far was something he regretted, but then again, there were a lot of choices he had misgivings over. This shouldn't have been any different.

So why was it still bothering him?

A cool breeze suddenly blew over his sweaty body as someone opened the entrance to the rec room. He expected it to pass shortly, but when he didn't hear the door close, he peered over his shoulder to see what idiot had his feet glued to the floor.

His heart stopped when a pair of onyx eyes met his gaze. The rest of the recreation room seemed to fade into nothingness.

Standing in the entryway was Mikasa Ackerman. Her usual attire was replaced with a maroon sports bra and white sweatpants. A plethora of emotions was uncharacteristically exposed on her normally placid face. For the first time ever, he could clearly read what was behind those shadowy orbs: shock, confusion, trepidation, hurt…none of which suited her.

Where was that fire, that defiance he hated so much? Surely she must loathe him for what he'd done. Then why was she staring at him like a kicked puppy? Looking at her in this state was almost painful. Had he really done this to her?

Maybe Erwin and Shitty Glasses weren't too far off after all.

"Mikasa, what are you waiting for?" came a voice from behind her. Soon enough, Eren's curious face appeared over her shoulder. The boy's expression immediately turned into a scowl when he caught sight of him. "Maybe we should go train outside for today." He nudged her back out the way they came.

The girl could only nod and mechanically follow her brother.

Levi couldn't believe his eyes. Was that the same Ackerman who was determined to defy him at every turn?

No longer motivated to continue his workout, he dragged himself over to the bench and planted himself down on it.

Had she cared that much about what happened? He knew Eren, with his blind faith in him, would still be upset; he had pushed him past his tipping point after all. But Ackerman? Anger was to be expected from the insubordinate girl, hatred as well. It wouldn't surprise him if she wanted to beat him to a pulp. However, what he had just seen was not something he had anticipated.

She must have grown more attached to him recently, probably because of those damned chores. He should never have let her get so close to him.

He gathered his belongings and headed to his room to shower once more. It made him sick to his stomach knowing that he had inflicted such emotional trauma on her. What disturbed him even more was that he himself was becoming so distraught at what he'd done. Apparently he had grown more fond of her than he'd realized.

One thing was for sure: he was going to make things right with her. He'd already played with fire and gotten himself burned. He'd be damned if he let the flames consume him.


End file.
